


Good Times at Midland University

by Quantum_Reality



Category: One Piece, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-14 08:41:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 53,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2185194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quantum_Reality/pseuds/Quantum_Reality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six people find their lives intertwining in mainly fun, but sometimes sad and sometimes unusual, ways at Midland University.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.
> 
> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

"—and that's the last box!" declared Simon Giha as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

His friend and roommate, Rossiu Adai, collapsed on their respective beds in their room in Lagann Tower, one of the large student residence complexes for Midland University. They were near the top floor, and it afforded a great view of the area, including the forest surrounding the university.

They were surrounded by boxes, which they'd been bringing up to their room from Simon's car. Their room faced south towards the opposite residence complex, named Alubarna Tower. If Simon leaned over and squinted a bit he could see people milling around in their rooms across the wide road that went one way to student residence parking and the other way to the university campus. Simon pushed himself back up to his feet and said, "Hey, I'm gonna move the car. Wanna stay here?"

"Yeah. Central air's kind of a nice thing, you know?" Rossiu pushed the strand of hair out of his eye and sprawled out on his bed.

"Okay, back in a sec."

Simon dodged other students wandering the hallways with their heavy boxes and hand carts, and decided to take the stairs for some exercise. Fifteen floors later, he was swiftly making his way through the large Lagann Tower lobby and out the doors into the warm early September sunlight. He spotted his car at the curb.

It was his pride and joy, a 1960 Ford Galaxie Starliner which he'd repainted from the stock red to include blue and grey tones. It was the one thing he'd decided to splurge on as soon as he turned sixteen, having been saving up doing summer jobs and year-round odd jobs for people. The engine and underbody had been in good shape but it needed wheels and the paint job also needed work, as the car had been stored on blocks in a garage that wasn't well insulated.

He got in and started the car. After a few minutes of driving, he had his car parked in its assigned spot in the covered parkade. He got out, locked up, and noted with approval that the sun wouldn't shine on his car and fade the paint.

The scenery on the walk back was nice. The wide sidewalks were adorned here and there with tall, sturdy cypress trees, which threw welcome shade on Simon as he walked back toward the towers. He spotted Lagann on the left and after looking both ways, sprinted across the street, went in and got the elevator back up.

Inside the room, Rossiu already had his computer set up at his desk, and was unpacking his clothes and a few books and arranging them in or on the dresser on his side of the room. Simon grabbed the box cutter knife from his friend and began opening his packing boxes, stuffing his clothes away first, then moving to his travel bag and getting his laptop set up on his desk. He grinned at Rossiu. "Why'd you bring that big thing with you, anyway? My laptop can do all that too, you know!"

Rossiu flicked Simon's shoulder. "Nuh-uh. Your laptop has but a mere smidgen of the power this computer has." He reached over and brushed some imaginary dust off the top of the monitor on the left, then adjusted the monitor on the right a bit.

Simon just rolled his eyes and chuckled. He wasn't a total tech whiz like Rossiu, but if the math genius who'd landed a full ride scholarship said he needed the thing, he probably did. Simon just needed a computer to do his reports on and check email with. Rossiu had actually recommended it as a decent balance between his budget and having a little bit of oomph for the occasional game.

Simon, as far as money went, had met with his cousin on a campus tour earlier that summer. Kamina'd slipped him a fat check, allegedly an "appreciation present" from the Phi Alpha Rho fraternity, which was partnered with the Tau Iota Epsilon sorority. Kamina had been a student for three years already, and he had firmly established himself as fraternity president. He often wrote Simon about another guy, his VP, named Luffy. Luffy, he wrote, could party even harder than Kamina, had no common sense when it came to courses or money, and yet was popular enough to merit the VP job.

Not that Kamina was complaining, though. Simon just wondered how his cousin had managed to keep his GPA above water to stay in the frat.

But between the money from his cousin, plus his living expenses plus textbooks being covered under a small scholarship Simon had gotten, he was covered for the year, though he would need to line up and pay his tuition the next day. Not trusting Kamina's source of funds he'd gone to the bank the check was drawn on, and asked for cash. That cash, still in the envelope, was now safely secreted in the top dresser drawer under articles of clothing.

He looked around the room again. The space between their desks was just the right size for them to get a TV set plus stand on a small table. One door, to the right, opened into a spacious closet where, for now, the guys had put their packing boxes. The other door, to the left, opened into a well-appointed bathroom that he could see was shared between his room and the one next door. It even had a _bathtub_.

He saw you could lock the door from the inside to keep the person in the other room from accidentally barging in, and thought to himself the university had really done a good job providing for its students forking out the kind of money they did for housing.

Rossiu came up behind Simon, slinging an arm over Simon's shoulder. He looked into the room and whistled. "Nice!"

Rossiu's warmth next to him sent his heart beating a little faster. Simon reached around and tugged Rossiu's shirt. "Hey. You wanna?"

"Damn, Simon, we just got in here and you _already_ wanna christen the place!?" Rossiu shoved Simon and flicked his shoulder again, moving nearer the closet door as he did so.

Simon turned around and took his shirt off. "We're all by ourselves. No nosy parents, no nosy guardian, just you and me."

That said, Simon was never quite sure just _what_ he and Rossiu were.

They weren't exactly boyfriends. After all, Simon had dated Nia Teppelin, daughter of the same Teppelin who'd gotten his name plastered on the local secondary school and who had recently retired from the school board.

But he and Nia hadn't been that serious either. They were still young and life was already pulling them different ways: Nia wanted to run for the school board as soon as she graduated and became a legal adult, while Simon wanted to go to university.

And yet there'd also been that attraction between him and Rossiu. Every now and then they'd work off their sexual tension with each other, and Simon had to admit Rossiu had gotten pretty good at what he did. He only hoped he did the same for his friend.

But right now, he definitely felt like having some fun.

Simon slowly unbuttoned, then unzipped his pants. He stared into Rossiu's eyes as he let his pants fall, his erection tenting his boxers. "C'mon. I bet you're getting hard just looking at this fine bod." Simon wiggled his eyebrows.

"Fuck off," Rossiu said half-heartedly.

"Ha. You mean fuck _you_." Simon grinned. "Literally."

"Geez." Rossiu yanked his shirt off. "Okay, you dickhead. Let's go, huh?" He yanked his pants off and tossed them aside.

Simon grabbed the condoms and lube and followed Rossiu to his bed. They could christen the other one later.

* * *

Simon stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel, drying himself as he did so. He said, "Hey. You wanna get dinner later?"

Rossiu got out as well, briskly drying himself off, giving Simon an eyeful of his lean, muscular body. "Yeah. Thai fusion?"

They'd both been working out that summer, Simon in particular trying to get a little extra cash doing moving jobs which required a lot of heavy lifting, and the work showed. Simon took his eyes off Rossiu's chest and replied, "Sure, if the food court in the student union building's got any. I read somewhere they're open twenty-four seven."

"It's a date. Let's move on out!"

And at that moment, a firm knock on the opposite bathroom door surprised them. "In the nick of time, huh?" Simon said with a grin as the two of them went back into their room to get dressed.

* * *

Over in Alubarna Tower, also near the top floor, a young woman with electric blue hair was just finishing arranging the pictures and sculptures on her dresser, when in barged a harried-looking orange-haired woman. She stumbled to a halt and gasped, "Oh, hey. Didn't know my roommate was already here!"

The electric-blue-haired woman smiled and said, "Not a problem. I just got here about an hour ago, myself. My father dropped me off earlier. I'm happy I have company now! I'm Vivi Ne—" she coughed briefly, then said, "Mercredi."

The redhead dumped all her stuff on her bed and stuck her hand out. "Nami Cocoyashi. Pleased to meet ya."

They shook hands, and then Vivi asked, "Need any help?" Vivi pointed at the boxes and bags Nami had dragged in on her cart as well as on her back.

"Yeah, that'd be great! I need to get the cart back to the rez office downstairs real quick, so could I get you to start opening the boxes? Don't worry about putting anything away just yet, but just open them up so I can come back and start putting things away." Nami was already grabbing boxes off the pushcart and haphazardly depositing them on the floor between the beds. As soon as it was empty, she practically zoomed off, leaving the door to shut with an anticlimactic _click_.

Vivi knelt down and began cutting the tape on the box lids, then arranging them so Nami would be less likely to trip over them when she returned. She couldn't help but notice some of the contents, though. Was that one box actually full of _money_?

Well, not everyone, mused Vivi, could have a father who didn't mind putting his daughter through school, and maybe this Nami didn't trust banks.

Even as that thought went through her head, the door was already creaking open again, and Nami beamed. "Great! Thanks a lot. Gonna get this squared away here, so just give me a few minutes?"

"Sure," replied Vivi. "I need to see if my father's sent me any messages yet." She sat at her desk and pulled her phone out of the drawer. Sure enough, a quick message to say he and his friend Igaram had reached the Crocodile Building and were about to start hostile takeover negotiations.

She had an uneasy feeling that her father might get blindsided, but she couldn't point to any one reason why, and put the matter out of her head for now.

Vivi noticed Nami's tank top straining against her torso as she moved, and her skirt did little to hide her strong legs. Vivi crossed her legs and thought, while she dressed a bit more conservatively, that she and Nami had very similar builds and body shapes. She chuckled to herself as she wondered what she would look like in that outfit.

Nami's voice broke in on Vivi's thoughts. "Like what you see?"

"What? No – I – what the?!" Vivi's mouth seemed unable to work as she flushed, realizing she'd been staring at Nami like she was checking the other girl out.

Nami waved. "Whatever, it's cool. Look, I'm not gonna lie. I swing both ways, and I'm not shy about admitting it." Her lips curved into a small smile. "Have to admit, though, you're easy on the eyes, and I wouldn't mind it if you liked girls."

"Um," said Vivi. _Oh, how very intelligent_ , her inner voice mocked. Hurriedly casting about for a way to change the subject, she blurted, "What's that on your arm?"

Nami turned her head and looked down at her shoulder before going back to storing her things away. "Oh, this? It's… kind of a reminder, I guess. Of where I came from, and my sister."

"Ah. Well, I'm an only child. And I'm from the city nearby, Alabasta."

"Huh. Cool," muttered Nami. In a louder voice, she said, "Anyway, let's blow this joint and get some food, huh?" Nami jumped off her bed and grabbed her purse. Vivi rummaged in the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out her own purse, as well.

"I think there's a food court on the main campus itself. We can go see what they have," Vivi suggested as she stood up.

Nami briefly put her hand on Vivi's shoulder. "Lead the way."

The tingle down her spine at Nami's touch would stay with Vivi for a while afterwards.

* * *

Yoko Littner sighed as she looked around the basement apartment she had had to rent just off the university campus. It wasn't _terrible_ ; it just sucked because the only view to the outside was the outdoor patio, partly sunk into the ground and which afforded a shady spot with fresh air for her. There were no windows in any of the rooms, either.

She hadn't been able to afford on-campus housing, so this was pretty much the only place for her. It had been a stroke of luck, too. An acquaintance of hers back in Ritona had told her about an elderly aunt who was renting the place to get a little extra money, and so one damage deposit plus three hundred bucks' first month's rent later, she was living off of East Blue Boulevard.

At least she'd gotten everything squared away, and could focus on what she had to do for the upcoming week. She had her map of the campus out in front of her and noted the Administration Building, the bookstore, the Student Union building, as well as the Faculty of Applied Sciences complex, which was next to the Faculty of Sciences complex. That, she thought, was good; she planned to focus heavily on the physical sciences and didn't relish having to waste her time dashing from class to class.

And Yoko knew where she had to go and when, tomorrow when classes officially started. Tuition, books, and then get ready for lectures on Wednesday. She made some notes in her appointment book, then closed it and set it on her desk next to her slim notebook computer. She quickly checked her phone and looked at the time. She decided to just walk down the street and pick up some food at the local pub she'd spotted when she was driving by earlier.

* * *

Zoro Roronoa leaned against the balcony of his admittedly shitty off-campus apartment. He was on East Blue Boulevard, paying four hundred bucks a month to live in a one-bedroom with a stove that had three working elements, a sink that groaned for ten seconds every time you first opened the tap, and while it was furnished, the bed was too stiff. At least the pillows were actually brand-new.

He looked down at the street. His eyes caught a red-haired woman walking down the street. She was wearing a T-shirt and yoga pants, and looked to be around his age. As she got closer, walking underneath his balcony as he did so, he had to admit she was pretty hot.

But he needed to focus; he went back inside and studied the campus map _very_ carefully. Getting lost would be pretty embarrassing.

He'd nearly gotten lost _on the campus tour_ , which was annoying and embarrassing because how hard was it to follow a group of other people?

As it turned out, harder than he thought. One glance at the student fencing club poster on the wall and he'd nearly lost track of the group and had frantically rushed down the hallway, just catching them as they slipped into a lecture hall to see the cavernous rooms some of his classes would likely be in.

Zoro ran his hand through his hair, studied the map again and almost automatically went to his fridge when he realized he didn't have any beer.

 _Shit_.

Well, there was nothing for it but to go to the pub and drop five bucks for a pint. Highway robbery, if he was asked. But he had twenty bucks in his pocket and he might even have supper, too.

* * *

Yoko picked up her whiskey glass, lifted it in brief toast to the bartender (who to his credit had only taken a brief look at her chest), then sat down at an empty table. She sipped at her whiskey, and decided it wasn't bad.

The Devil's Fruit Pub wasn't too crowded. Chalkboards around the pub advertised "student specials", which Yoko could take advantage of once she got her student ID. A couple of overhead televisions showed a football game, but that was hardly exciting for her. Give her a skeet shooting competition any day.

The front door swung pen and Yoko automatically looked up. Her eyes stayed glued to the young guy walking in as she realized he had _green_ hair! He glanced over at her as he walked past her table, and she thought he looked pretty cute. He had a nice chest and arms, from the looks of it.

She heard him order a local microbrewed lager, which added another plus mark in her mind. Too many guys in her old high school thought the three-two you could get from a guy who sold beer to underagers was the most kickass beer _ever_. No sense of taste, she mentally groused.

After he paid the bartender and picked up his beer, he turned around. Yoko made a split-second decision. She smiled and waved at him.

He choked on his beer, provoking a laugh from her as she beckoned him over. "Yes, you! Come here!"

Green-hair sat down, eyeing her a bit warily as he set his beer down on the table. "Hi. Um, I don't know you, Miss, Mrs… um, what 's your name?"

Yoko held out her hand. "Just call me Yoko. Yoko Littner."

"Zoro." Zoro reached out to shake hands, then picked his beer up again. "Well, my last name's Roronoa, but that's a mouthful so I try not to use it unless I have to."

"Fair enough," Yoko replied. She sipped her whiskey again. "So what's with the green hair, if you don't mind my asking? That's actually what got my attention, you know."

Zoro smiled. Her heart skipped a beat; damn, but he had a cute smile!

"I dye it. It's my little secret. When I want to mess with someone I tell them I got born with this weird genetic mutation, and you wouldn't _believe_ how many people fall for it." Zoro's smile had become a full-fledged grin now, and Yoko found herself grinning along with him as she chuckled.

"Nice." She fingered her hair and said, "This actually isn't quite my natural hair color. I dye it a bit deeper red to give it a bit of a highlight."

"Huh. I like it," Zoro said as he took a swig from his glass. "You mind me asking why you're here?"

"Not at all. I wanted to get out of the house and pick up something to eat. I'm just having my pre-dinner drink first." Yoko hefted the glass and took another sip, then licked her lips. "Mm, good whiskey. What about you?"

"Same idea. I didn't have anything in the fridge, not even three-two. So here I am. Now that you mention it, I might get something to eat too. You eating here or back home?"

Yoko smacked the table. "You know what? Let's eat here. I just moved in and I don't feel like being alone tonight killing time 'till I go to school tomorrow."

Zoro leaned forward, a surprised expression on his face "No kidding? I moved into _my_ place just a day ago, and I'm going to the university, too!"

Yoko grinned. "Great! So, Zoro. What's your major gonna be?"

"If they had swordfighting, I'd be down for that, but since that's not in the cards, I decided to study history with a minor in archaeology, with an emphasis on civilizations that had swords as their major weapon of war."

"Hm!" Yoko leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Zoro's eyes flicked down to her chest and back up again. _Good, he likes girls_ , she thought. "Engineering. My father taught me guns, and while it's not practical to make a career being an Olympic skeet shooter, there's definitely careers in designing new and better ones."

Zoro tapped his mouth with his finger, then played with his beer glass. "You know, it's like we're studying opposites. I'm studying the past of weapon usage, you're studying the future of weapons."

Yoko snapped her fingers. "I never thought of it like that, but you're right." Her stomach rumbled. "Look, I'd _love_ to keep talking but I seriously need to eat. Can we quickly order something?"

"Sure. Fish and chips is probably a safe bet here, I think?" Zoro raised his eyebrows.

"Sounds good. C'mon, let's order."

The twosome walked up and put in their orders, and were told it would be about ten minutes.

As they sat back down, Zoro drank off the last of his beer and sighed. "Gonna have to stick to water for the rest of the night. My scholarship is through the university, and I can get my check tomorrow. 'Till then I gotta watch what's in my pocket."

"I know what you mean," groaned Yoko. "I'm on a combo of student loans and bursaries, and I'll get most of my money tomorrow as well. Well, here's to having water tonight." She raised her glass and gulped down the whiskey, savoring the warm burn as it went down her throat.

Yoko found out that Zoro was from a place called Merryville, a small town about a day's drive away. She, in turn, told him she was from Ritona, a day's drive the opposite way. After that, small talk ensued until the food came, after which conversation ceased as they dug in.

A half hour later, Yoko sighed and sat back. "That was good! Just roll me on back home, please."

Zoro laughed. "Yeah, it was." He smirked. "I could always carry you home, you know."

Yoko's heart again skipped a beat. The thought of being close to him enticed her. But she just said, "Maybe another time." She rummaged in her purse for her phone and checked the time. "It's just after six. I think I'm gonna get an early night."

"Good idea. Walk you home, then?" Zoro drank off the last of his water, then stood up.

"Sure, if you're walking my way." Yoko stood as well, putting her purse strap over her shoulder as she did so.

Zoro pointed out the window and to the right. "That way."

Yoko gasped. "No _way_. I live down that way, too!"

"Well, c'mon, then."

The two of them walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the cool evening breeze. As the two of them passed by a faded white three-storey walkup apartment building, Zoro pointed. "Up there, second floor. That's where I live."

"Cool. I live further down, in the blue house down the street. It's a basement suite, but it's cheap." Yoko pointed to show Zoro roughly where she lived. To the left, they could see the tall buildings that marked the university campus proper.

"Okay, well, maybe I'll see you around sometime, then?" Zoro asked.

"Sure thing. Lemme give you my number, is that cool?"

"Yeah, of course!" Zoro automatically slapped his pockets, and groaned. "Damn. Where is my head at today? I left my phone in my room!"

Yoko waved that off, and grabbed a pen from her purse. She took his hand, and said, "Now you won't forget."

Zoro's hand was warm, and his skin felt smooth to the touch except for the roughness she could feel on his palm at the base of his fingers. it made sense, if he was any kind of swordfighter or fencer.

She carefully wrote her phone number on his palm, heedless of the quickening of his breath as she did so, then released his hand and waved good-bye. He waved in return, and she turned to walk back to her apartment.

She hoped he liked what he saw, because she definitely liked Zoro.

* * *

Simon and Rossiu stood in line outside of Midland University's bookstore.

They'd been standing in the same spot for twenty minutes, and it looked to be a good twenty more before they'd shuffle forward and finally enter the _actual damn store_. Simon elbowed Rossiu and asked, "Remind me again why we thought it was a good idea to get our books on the first freakin' day of classes?"

Rossiu smiled slightly. "If I recall, it was because I only had my morning calculus class, and the rest of my day was free, since my tuition is paid automatically. _You_ don't have any classes today, 'cause it's Tuesday, and your English lit prof booked the first week off and instead e-mailed out a list of readings to do for next week."

Simon sighed. "At least I got my tuition paid up and my ID card printed. _That_ was a line-up and a half from hell, I tell you, because for some dumb reason they didn't open up at eight in the Admin Building like they were supposed to; the doors didn't open till fifteen after! _And_ I was in line at seven in the morning so I'd be one of the first people to get it done."

He ran his hand through his hair and looked up and down the line snaking its way across the expansive courtyard, which featured carefully-manicured lawns dotted with trees, and at the center was a large circular pond, surrounded by benches shaded by more trees. The bookstore was in one of the buildings lining the southern end, and facing it from the north was the Administration building. He could see another line snaking out the front door of that building, and felt a pang of pity for those who had to wait hours to get their tuition paid.

A glimpse of electric blue out the corner of Simon's eye caught his attention. He leaned over to look closer, and he nudged Rossiu. "Hey! Remember those two cute girls from last night at the food court? They sat a couple tables down from us and even smiled!"

Rossiu craned his neck to look and smiled. "Yeah, the electric blue and her friend, the redhead. They seemed kinda nice."

Simon leaned in to whisper into Rossiu's ear, "And get a load of the other girl with red hair who's talking to them."

Rossiu looked again, and his eyes went wide. He hissed back. "How do those huge knockers stay _up?_ "

Simon shook his head. "Only the masters of boob physics can tell us, my friend."

They chuckled, then both Simon's and Rossiu's phone rang. It turned out Kamina wanted to bellow down the phone about what an awesome day he was having, while Rossiu's dad was checking in to see how things were going.

Meanwhile, down the line, Nami stood in line with her dorm roommate, Vivi. Neither had any classes on the first day. They had both noticed the tall red-haired woman in front of them; she was dressed in a smart-looking button-down shirt and slacks, and they both couldn't help but notice her ample endowment up front. Especially Nami.

They had struck up a conversation with the other woman, who they found out was named Yoko Littner. She was the daughter of an ex-soldier, and he'd taught her quite a bit when she was younger, it transpired.

"… I got to handle an actual Gatling Gun once. Man, but those are heavy!"

Nami whistled. "Cool."

Yoko looked around for a second, then pulled out her phone from her purse and looked at it. She sent a quick text message, then stuffed it back in her purse. Vivi, noticing her pensive expression, said, "Is everything okay?"

Yoko grimaced. "Just… a guy I kind of clicked with last night is saying he's lost and I have no freaking idea where he _is_. We were gonna hang out in line and now I can't find him." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll just catch up with him later. You were gonna ask me something, Nami?"

"Yeah. What'll your major be, you think?"

"Engineering. I want to learn how to design guns, maybe do some teaching on the side, too. And you two?" Yoko smiled.

"Business admin," replied Nami. "I always had a head for numbers, and hey, that's where the money's at these days, right?"

"Political science – international relations, specifically, and a minor in a language for me," declared Vivi. "I want to become an ambassador."

Nami nudged Vivi. "Nice! You'll get to hobnob with the rich and famous while I make deals to _get_ fabulously rich."

"While I design the guns the security guards will probably have," quipped Yoko. She frowned, then said, "Did you two say you were roommates? Over in Alubarna Tower?"

"Yep." "Yes."

"Huh! Which floor are you on?"

"We managed to score a top floor suite," replied Nami. "We've got an awesome view of the whole campus!"

"And we only have to share a bathroom with the suite next door; when you're using it, you lock the other door so the people there can't bother you," Vivi said. "Oh! And there's a full-size bathtub and everything."

Yoko whistled. "Nice. I heard some great things about it, but unfortunately for me I had to get a basement suite off-campus."

"Jeez." Nami's expression said it all.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not moldy or anything but there's no windows and just a small outdoor patio." Yoko shrugged. "You get what you pay for. Rent's cheap." Her eyes flicked up, and she smiled. "I see a couple of cute boys back in line trying to look inconspicuous about staring at us. You know 'em?"

Nami turned her head to look, and recognized the two guys now talking on their phones. One had a rather harried, exasperated expression that lent him a bit of a cute-waif look. She grinned and turned back to the other two. "Yep! I remember 'em from the food court last night; they seemed kinda cute."

She nudged Vivi, who turned to look as well. "You're right! They are." She lowered her voice a bit and said, "I kind of like the one who has the one strand of hair hanging off to the side. I wonder how he does it."

"Well, maybe they'll be in your classes," remarked Yoko.

People started shuffling ahead of them. "Line's moving," said Nami. "Catch up with you sometime, Yoko?"

"Sure!" Yoko rummaged in her purse as the students entered the bookstore proper one by one. She scribbled a number on a small pad and handed it to Nami, who was closer to her. "Call me sometime, either of you. You're lucky I didn't have to write it on your hand like I did with that guy last night."

Nami winked and gave her the thumbs up as they were ushered into the bookstore proper.

Clutching their course lists, the two roommates began searching for their textbooks, deftly weaving past other students who were eyeing their lists and then anxiously eyeing the hefty price tags printed on the shelves.

* * *

Zoro was utterly lost.

He had his map. He had the exact freaking GPS coordinates of the bookstore in his cell phone.

He had been texting back and forth with Yoko on that same phone for a good ten minutes, with her last text reading: "Zoro, please just look for the girl with electric blue hair in the line-up! She stands out like crazy and you'll see me there!"

And yet somehow he was staring at the freakin' Student Union Building on the east end of the central courtyard of Midland University. Where the _hell_ was the bookst—

"Oof!"

Zoro steadied himself, thankful for his intensive fencing and physical training that kept him in trim; he automatically balanced on the balls of his feet as he looked at who had collided with him. A lanky young guy wearing a T-shirt and shorts was sprawled on the sidewalk, a yellow straw hat next to him.

"You okay down there, buddy?" Zoro reached down and effortlessly pulled the other guy up. As soon as he got to his feet he smiled widely, then swooped down and grabbed up his straw hat and plunked it on his head.

He held out his hand. "Hey!"

"Uh, hey," Zoro replied as he shook hands. "Listen, d'you know where—"

"Name's Luffy, and I think you need to come to the party tonight! Phi Alpha Rho and Tau Iota Epsilon! Just ask anyone, tell 'em you're looking for Luffy and Kamina's kick-ass awesome start-of-classes kegger!"

"I'm looking for the _bookstore_ ," Zoro ground out between his teeth. "Not a party!"

Luffy – what kind of name was that, anyway? – clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "You're a funny guy! It's just over there." He pointed.

"Aw. God _damn_ it!" Zoro gritted his teeth in frustration. It wasn't his freakin' fault he had no sense of direction.

"S'your name, anyway?" Luffy began trotting along with Zoro as the tall green-haired man ate up the distance to the bookstore line-up.

"Zoro."

"Well, Zoro, you _gotta_ come. I mean, Kamina's always telling me about the latest Tea Eye E girl he banged, but I'm more in it 'cause I can beat anyone in a beer chugging contest!"

Zoro, having gotten into line, stared down at Luffy, giving the other man the hairy eyeball. Why, the guy only came up to Zoro's shoulder!

"You. Chug beer." Luffy nodded enthusiastically, clapping his hand on top of his straw hat to keep it from flying off.

"And you win." Luffy nodded, grinning widely.

"Absolutely!"

"Okay, if it'll get rid of you, I'll come to your freakin' party." Zoro sighed and hoped the runt would _finally_ get the hint—

"Woohoo!" Luffy clapped Zoro on the shoulder. "Remember, ask for the P-A-R-T-I-E! And tell 'em I said you could come!"

The straw-hatted man ran off. A couple of women behind Zoro giggled and chattered among themselves. "Oh my gawd! That Luffy guy! I've heard about him! And his friend Kamina is _so_ freakin' hot! Have you seen the muscles that guy has? We _gotta_ crash that party!"

One of them, a rather attractive blonde, poked Zoro in the shoulder and eyed him up and down. "Hey, cutie, wanna help us get into the frat party tonight?"

The other, with jet-black hair, winked at him and said, "We'll _totally_ make it worth your while if you get us in, hmm?"

Then they each put on the most adorable pouts. Somehow, Zoro found himself saying, "Okay."

And then the two girls, named Amy and Blaise, constantly found excuses to squash their boobs against his arm as they walked in the lineup. It hadn't helped one bit when Zoro noticed they had really nice asses, too.

Inside the bookstore, they made their way to a corner to exchange numbers. Blaise handed him a small piece of paper with her number, grinned at him and said, "Meet us over by the frat house at six. You can't miss us, we're that hot. Right, Amy?"

Amy winked at him and handed him a piece of paper. She leaned in just a bit, making sure he got a nice eyeful down her shirt. "Yep. Seeya, cute guy."

They walked off, giggling at each other. He heaved a sigh of relief, wondered what classes _they_ were taking, then realized he was supposed to meet Yoko. It would be nice, he thought, to meet someone he knew instead of random strangers that persisted in hanging around near him. He texted Yoko: "I'm sorry. I finally made it to the bookstore but didn't see you in line. You're probably inside, so meet for lunch later?"

Yoko's text back read, "Of course! I was just getting a little worried. Student union building at noon, okay? Bring your appetite, 'cause I'm hungry! XD"

And that put a bigger smile on his face than the thought of possibly getting into a threesome that night at a party.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Zoro had had a fun lunch with Yoko; they split a small pizza, and after comparing class schedules they found they could walk together to school most mornings, and have time for a coffee before they had to go to classes. He admitted, "I'm not great with directions. I don't know why, but I have gotten _majorly_ lost at times, so you walking me here'll be a help."

Yoko had grinned and patted his arm. "Glad to be of help."

At the end of their lunch, Zoro said, "Speaking of walking, could we head back off campus for a while? I wanna dump all this stuff in my room and then I need to deposit my check."

"No problem! I should get these books put away, too." Yoko smiled at him as they rose from their seats and made their way out of the large food court, then headed eastward, which also went past the large residence halls.

As they passed by the two fifteen-storey edifices, Zoro whistled. "Must be nice to live in there."

"Yep. I met a couple of girls who live in Alubarna, and they say it's really nice. Maybe when I can get a scholarship I can move in next semester, or next year," Yoko said, a wistful note in her voice.

They swung by Yoko's place first, and she pointed down the road. "Your apartment's there. Don't get lost." She winked. Zoro chuckled, knowing it wasn't meant maliciously.

"I'll see you… when?" Zoro inquired.

"Hm! If we don't make plans later tonight how about you just come over here at seven-thirty tomorrow morning and we can grab a coffee like we planned?"

"Sure thing." Zoro sketched a wave. "Seeya."

Yoko put her hand on Zoro's arm and squeezed gently. "See you later."

Zoro returned to his apartment, got his textbooks organized, then found the address for the branch of his bank in Alabasta. He drove over, managing to get there and back without undue trouble, albeit with frequent consultation of his map.

By the time all was said and done, it was close to four-thirty. He began debating with himself about whether or not to go to the party at the frat, when his phone rang. He grabbed it up, and the name 'Amy' popped up on the caller ID.

"Aw, shit," he breathed. He decided he might as well take the call or he'd end up getting a zillon voicemails.

He put the phone to his ear and said, "Yeah?"

"Hey, cute guy! Don't tell me you forgot already!"

"No. But what's up?" Zoro frowned.

"Just wanted to remind you we're gonna be at the Phi Alpha Rho house at six. Here's what we're wearing!"

Zoro's phone beeped, and shortly after, he was greeted with a picture of the two bombshells dressed to kill for the party. Against his will, his heart started pounding a bit more heavily.

He put his phone back up to his ear and said, "It should be illegal for you girls to be that hot!"

Peals of laughter could be heard through the phone as Amy and Blaise seemed to think it was a complete riot.

"Okay, we won't keep ya. Dress nice, sexy!"

The phone let out a short _beep_ , and Zoro sighed. Well, if he had to go he could at least dress up like the girls wanted him to. He could always just find a frat guy, get the girls introduced and then get a beer or something. He walked over to his closet and looked at his recently-unpacked clothes. He found his best dress pants and a clean, dark blue dress shirt.

After showering, he got his clothes on and looked at himself in the mirror. He nodded to himself. "Not bad!"

Zoro looked at his hair and decided not to get too creative. Just a bit of gel and a comb-through to make it stand up a bit more. Then he sat down at his computer and got a printout of a close-up map of the campus around the fraternity housing block, which was situated northeast of the large residence halls, plus a picture of the street view.

Making sure his wallet (sans credit cards, in case of pickpockets) and phone were on his person, he stepped back out of the apartment and made his way, frequently consulting the map, and breathing easier when he spotted Pantheon Road, and turning in the direction of the buildings.

Long before he got to the actual frat house complex, he could hear the noise and babble of the people at the kegger. He passed by houses with names like Delta Epsilon Iota, Kappa Omicron Eta, and so forth; he had studied the ancient Greeks some time ago and made a point of it to remember the alphabet. But for people who might not know, the letters were fully written out in the Latin alphabet on small plaques that were mounted to concrete pillars that stood aside the concrete walkways into the houses proper. The pillars themselves were part of fences that kept people from wandering onto the grassy lawns around each house.

Zoro noticed he was approaching two much larger houses, situated directly opposite one another. The others were comparatively modest three-storey units, but these two stretched a full five floors up and looked more like small apartment complexes. He realized one must be the Phi Alpha Rho frat house. As he got closer, he had to begin carefully threading his way past people holding red beer cups, and some were already decidedly tipsy. The crowd got thicker, and he had to struggle to see the windows; frat houses usually posted the Greek letters in the windows. He turned to his right, saw that he was beside the fence that normally kept people off the lawns and standing right next to the pillar were Blaise and Amy!

He made his way up to them, and they both squealed, apparently genuinely happy to see him. "Zoro! Cutie!"

He hugged Blaise, then Amy, and stood back to admire their outfits. Their form-fitting dresses left very little to the imagination. He smiled at them both and said, "So, wanna go in?"

"Sure. P-A-R's just across the street. We're standing in front of T-I-E, because it got too crowded over there."

As Zoro put his arms around their waists and walked with them across the street, narrowly escaping crashing into a few people, he said, "Why me, anyway?"

Blaise stopped him and said into his ear, "It's kind of a long story. The short of it is that last year we tried rushing Tau Iota, but this one bitch in there hated our guts and blackballed us. We didn't even _do_ anything to get blackballed, because usually if you get asked to rush as a pledge for that sorority, you're in. But they still go through the voting. And every time we've tried going in to a party she's always been hanging around making sure anyone she hates can't get in. But Luffy's so popular he can override her."

And sure enough, as they began walking again, the Phi Alpha doors banged open loudly enough that the babbling momentarily dropped in volume. The Straw Hat Luffy stampeded out, followed by a taller blue-haired guy wearing an unbuttoned T-shirt, showing a well-muscled torso with the _weirdest_ freaking glasses Zoro had ever seen. They were like two triangles that had been smashed together to create a… Zoro didn't even _know_ that shape.

But that, he knew, must be Kamina, because the two girls gasped and thumped Zoro's shoulders. "That's him! That's _him!_ "

Amy said, "God, he's _so_ fucking hot. I'd have his _children_."

But Luffy, scanning the crowd, locked eyes with Zoro and rushed down to say hello. "Hey! Green hair! You're here! Wait just a sec!"

Kamina waved his hands, then put his fingers to his mouth and let out a sharp piercing whistle that cut the babbling down again for good.

He bellowed, "Okay, guys and girls, I know it's still early for our party 'cause the sun's up."

The crowd laughed.

"But anyway, you can see the beer's good, the music's good, the _party_ is good! As of right now we're officially throwing open the doors of the Phi Alpha Rho lobby so you can kick back and chat with us frat boys, and I'm sure the lovely girls at Tau Iota Epsilon'll be opening up for the ladies shortly. This side's co-ed, that side ain't.

"Beer kegs are around the back lawn; we also got some inside. We got some eats, like pretzels and chips and shit, too. Okay, enough bullshit." He pointed his finger at the sky. "If you wanna rush the frat, now's your chance to check it out. Remember if you pledge, to believe in me who believes in all of you, and together we shall pierce the heavens!"

With that Kamina stalked back inside the frat house, and Luffy began dragging them inside, pushing abreast of the crowd slowly drifting onto the lawn and into the house proper. They were stopped, however, by an angry-looking blond woman who pointed at Blaise and Amy. "These two are _not_ permitted! Period!"

Luffy just laughed. "Tanya Valentine! Whatever, sorority prez! We're on _my_ ground!" He gestured Zoro inside past the fuming woman, and at least for tonight, Zoro knew any reciprocal agreements between the PAR and TIE were being ignored.

Inside the large lobby hall, Luffy clapped Zoro on the shoulder. "My place is your place! Enjoy yourself and you need anything, just come see me." He bowed briefly to Blaise and Amy. "Ladies."

Amy saw a guy in a suit wearing a frat pin. She turned to Zoro and gave him a pout and a lip bite all in one. "Look, I _really_ want that time with you but can I take a rain check?"

Zoro shrugged. "Catch you later." Shortly after, Amy was chatting up the attractive frat guy, while Zoro, his arm still around Blaise, let them get pushed off to a side wall. Blaise pressed herself against him. "Look, I wanna apologize for Amy. She and I have just _wanted_ in here for so long, and Luffy's invitation is as good as gold as long as he recognizes you. But he doesn't invite girls as much as Kamina does. So we took our chance with you."

"Hey, it's okay. You don't owe me anything."

"Zoro, look, it's like this. We were teasing you all morning and I feel like we _did_ kinda make a promise to you, so if you really want we'll find a closet or a room and I'll—" she leaned in, her expression earnest "—give you a killer blowjob. Or you can even fuck me."

That offer was _damn_ tempting, but Zoro just couldn't find it in himself to take her up on it. He knew Blaise was here to pick up a guy from the frat, not him. He smiled down at her and said, "Thanks, but I'll take a rain check myself, okay?"

Blaise ducked her head and grinned. "Zoro, you're a damn good guy. Listen, tell ya what. You're single, right?"

Zoro nodded.

"Look, when you feel like a night of clubbing, call me up and we'll hit a club and then I promise you we can go back to my place or yours and fuck each other's brains out. You're hot and I wouldn't mind getting with you sometime."

Zoro grinned in turn. "It's a deal. Go enjoy yourself."

Blaise kissed him on the cheek, then made a beeline for a guy wearing a fraternity pin. _Damn, but she definitely has a great ass_ , thought Zoro.

He decided he was way overdue for a cold one, and made his way to the bar at the other end of the lobby. The lineup was five deep, and it was twenty minutes before Zoro finally made his way to the counter. "Gimme anything that's not fucking horse piss," he barked.

"Microbrew Pale Ale good enough for ya?" the skinny guy said as he got a cup ready next to one of the beer barrels. Zoro nodded, and soon he was possessed of a cup of some very good-tasting cold beer. He smacked his lips, and his curiosity took hold as his eyes wandered over the large hall. Maybe he'd check this place out a bit.

* * *

When Yoko was waiting for Zoro at the food court, she overheard a couple of guys talking to a girl at the next table over. "Hey, you're hot. We wouldn't mind seeing you down at the kegger tonight."

"Hmmm! Where's it at?"

"Fraternity block. C'mon down to Phi Alpha Rho. Our sister sorority's across the way."

The thought had nagged at her as she unpacked her textbooks and then, her bank account now full, went on a quick food and booze run. Back home, as she ate a sandwich and sat in front of her computer, she picked up her phone, and was just about to text Zoro about it when she thought again. He seemed more like the type who'd enjoy a club or a bar than a fraternity party. She decided to put that thought on hold for now. She could always text him later when she was _at_ the party and see if he wanted to come knowing she was there.

But she had another mission in mind, too. The sorority would be nearby, and the germs of a thought began forming in her head: if she could meet the right people, well, maybe she wouldn't have to live in the basement suite forever.

With that settled, she finished the sandwich, went into the bathroom to freshen her lipstick, then went to change into one of her party dresses. It was time to show off a bit.

Especially if Zoro _were_ to show up.

* * *

Simon's phone rang again. He picked it up off his desk and groaned. "Aw, shit. It's Kamina _again_."

Rossiu, at the opposite desk, said over his shoulder, "The hell does he want?"

At that moment, Rossiu's phone rang. He grabbed it up and looked at the message. He stopped blasting opposing shooters and yelped, "What the _fuck_ , Simon? He's telling me you're blowing off his party!"

"I just don't really feel like it," he mumbled.

Rossiu turned and wheeled closer to Simon. He put his hand on Simon's shoulder and said, "Hey. Look at me, huh?"

Simon looked up at Rossiu, who continued. "We're friends, right? Hell, we're more than friends. We fuck each other, for one thing. Now if you and I can share each other's bodies, how about you share something a little less intimate, like the real reason you don't wanna go?"

Simon threw his hands up and said, "It's _stupid_. I just don't feel like Kamina deciding he needs to brag about his awesome cousin in front of a bunch of people. I don't need that kind of attention. Sure, we've been to parties in high school, but not like what Kamina's been telling me his blowouts are like. They always start off small, and then they just escalate 'till it's like three in the morning and everybody's collapsing everywhere and the place looks like a war zone."

Rossiu grinned. "Just think of it as an order of magnitude difference in what you have to experience. I won't mind checking it out with you, if you want. You should have a buddy there, right?"

Simon looked over at Rossiu and smiled. "Thanks. After all, you're right. We're pretty close, aren't we?"

"We are. And your reward is we can christen the other bed when we get back." Rossiu grinned and winked.

"Oh-ho! Some incentive!" Simon stood up and stretched. "Okay, fine. Let's see what we got for party gear. We should look presentable, considering we _are_ going to a frat my cousin runs."

Soon, two young men in their best T-shirts and pants made their way along the walkway to Pantheon Road, and walking between two frat houses, ended up on the street and made their way to the party now spilling out of two of the houses. They nearly got separated trying to bob and weave up to the short flight of stairs going up to the entrance doorway to Phi Alpha, but managed to make it inside shoulder to shoulder.

Almost immediately a loud bellow of "Simon!" ricocheted around the lobby, and Kamina grinned widely as he came up to Simon. "Bro! Gimme a hug!"

The two cousins embraced, Simon a bit awkwardly. Kamina looked at Rossiu and said, "Hey, bud! You've grown up. Good to see you too, Rossiu." To the hall at large, he bellowed, "Hey everyone! These two guys here're my favorite cousin, Simon Giha, and his friend, Rossiu Adai! Tonight, they're honorary members, so treat 'em right, folks!"

Loud cheers went up, and Kamina slapped Simon on the back. "Least I can do for ya. Lemme know if there's anything else you need. Especially if you want a hot chick to pick up. The sorority prez—" Kamina whistled. "She's on the warpath right now, but I've been trying to hook her up. Wanna see her?"

"Um," replied Simon.

As if by magic, a tall, attractive blonde with an hourglass figure, wearing a floral print dress, walked up the stairs to greet Kamina. "Tanya!" he cried. "Want you to meet my cousin and his friend."

She seemed to soften a bit as she looked at the two of them. "Hi. You are…?"

Simon tentatively extended his hand. "Simon." Rossiu did likewise, introducing himself.

"While I do have a bone to pick with your cousin, you two look kind of cute. Wanna come over to my place later?" Tanya smiled, but somehow it seemed just the tiniest bit predatory, and he wondered what her actual game was.

So he played it safe. "Um, sure, later. Rossiu and I were gonna check things out here first, ya know?"

Kamina slapped their backs. "Great idea. Gonna go circle 'round, make sure nobody's upchucking on my bed or anything." And with that, he walked away, leaving Tanya with them.

She put one hand on Simon's shoulder, the other on Rossiu's, and leaned in. "I like my guys to come in pairs, if you know what I mean."

Simon's breath hitched. His mouth went dry, and he said, "Um – that's – uh, cool. Really. Could we, you know, talk later?"

Tanya just chuckled and said, "Remember. Invitation's open for tonight. Just come on over and say I invited you."

She walked away, and Rossiu's eyes followed her. He heaved a sigh of relief, looked at Simon and said, "Why do I get the feeling that behind that set of awesome tits and a great ass is a pretty scary woman?"

"You're telling _me!_ "

At that moment, a couple of tall fraternity guys came over. One said, "You guys are so freakin' lucky. You're Kamina's cousin, man, _and_ you got propositioned by that ice queen, too."

"Ice queen?" Rossiu frowned.

The other guy said, "Oh, yeah. She's nice and all, _except_ if you get on her bad side for any reason. Then she's just stone-cold, 'you do not exist except as an annoyance within my vision'."

Simon changed the subject with some force. "How about we get a beer? You guys can show us the ropes here, huh?"

And with that, the two young men, holding full beer cups, were shortly cheering a game of beer pong along with a number of other increasingly inebriated guys.

* * *

Zoro ambled along the second floor, the noises of the party diminishing as he stepped away from the staircase. As long as he held his beer, he noticed, the occasional fraternity member seemed to leave him alone as he walked.

He noted the high quality finish of every accoutrement in the fraternity house. The hallway itself was a foot wider than the usual for a house or apartment, the carpeting was sound-deadened as well as stiff and easy to clean, and anything made of wood was polished to a high sheen.

He'd had a couple of beers, so he was a bit buzzed, but he wasn't super-drunk and he wanted to keep it that way.

His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to look at it. "Huh, Yoko," he muttered. He checked the text message. His eyes widened in surprise as he read: "Hey. Just got out of the sorority house Tau Iota Epsilon. Am going to the Phi Alpha Rho house to get a beer. Wanna join me?"

Zoro quickly texted back, "Am already here. Second floor. If not, third."

He ambled along some more, noting how each door was decorated in some way, personalizing it to the occupant of the room. Occasionally, a door would be left open, signalling that there was no occupant presently assigned that room. He guessed it also gave an idea to prospective pledges what life might be like in Phi Alpha.

Just as he was about to mount the stairs to the third floor, he heard distant thundering and turned around to look down the hall. Yoko, holding a beer, marched up to him and grinned. "Zoro! I didn't expect you to come! What made you show up?"

Zoro chuckled. "The short story is, two girls needed me as their ticket in, and now they're off happily boinking a couple of frat boys. I didn't mind; I wanted the free beer and I felt like checking the place out. Looks pretty nice."

Yoko sipped from her cup then looked into Zoro's. She said with some surprise, "Yours is empty."

Zoro smirked. "Protective camouflage."

Yoko's mouth curved into a slow grin. "I knew I liked you, Zoro. You're smart."

"Wanna check out the third floor?" Zoro gestured upwards.

"Sure. And now that you're with a girl, you have even more camouflage." Yoko winked.

Zoro grunted, "Good point."

The two went up the stairs and toured the third floor, noting more empty rooms than on the second. Zoro decided that made sense: if you were on the fifth floor, it could be a huge hassle to get your things in and out, even though, he thought, there must be an access-locked elevator only for use by the frat members themselves.

"By the way, you look good in that dress," Zoro remarked.

Yoko smiled. "Thanks. I think I might've caused a couple of traffic accidents on the way over."

Zoro lifted his eyebrows. "Literally?"

"Nah. I mean like, two guys're walking and suddenly they're both staring at my tits and they crash into each other."

Zoro chuckled, a bit relieved. After a moment, Zoro looked down at said tits briefly and, his heart racing a bit, said, "Well, they're pretty nice-looking, if you don't mind me saying so."

Yoko looped her free arm around Zoro's. "Not at all! And hey, you look really hot in that outfit. You know that shirt makes your chest stand out?"

"Really? I was thinking it was a bit small, but I don't wear it much and I've been trying to keep fit over the summer," Zoro answered.

Yoko drained off the last of her beer and said, "Well, it's a good look on you. So why're you still here after your girl-tickets took off?"

"Something to do. I mean, like I said, free beer. And they're not serving that horse piss either," Zoro said.

"Huh. Well, I was checking out the sorority. Between you and me, their president's a total fucking bitch."

Zoro leaned back a bit and regarded Yoko's intense look. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I can tell. She's totally nice and polite, but there's this smile she has that's like a cross between, 'I am being totally fake' and 'I'm secretly homicidal'."

"Gee, don't mince words!" Zoro whistled. "So what're you thinking? Join, and then run against her and have the best apartment on campus with the power to match?"

Yoko snapped her fingers and pointed at him, clucking her tongue. "Right in one, Zoro. God, I love it when I'm hanging out with a guy quick on the uptake."

They had, by now, reached the stairs to the fourth floor, Yoko still arm in arm with Zoro. She momentarily pressed her breast against his elbow, and his heart practically leapt out of his chest. His breath hitched, and he looked back at her. She smiled. Oh, damn it, she _knew_.

Shit.

"Look, sorry, about my elbow, that was an accident—"

Yoko's finger on Zoro's mouth shushed him. "It's fine, Zoro." She lifted an eyebrow and said archly, "I meant to do that. Now, figure it out."

"You like me, I like you, let's do something about it?" Zoro's heart was slamming against his chest so hard he thought he might be causing minor quakes in the building. He tried to keep his breathing under control.

 _How_ , he wondered, _had this amazingly attractive, intelligent woman come to like him?_

Yoko grinned. "Right again. Let's find a room."

With that, the two young people moved into high gear. They stepped quickly, zooming past room after room until they found a darkened one on the north side, overlooking a nearby frat house. They slipped inside and Zoro closed and locked the door. Yoko muttered as she reached around, "The layout's like Tau Iota, so the desk lamp is—"

A small _click_ later, a dim light shone on the desk, and Yoko went to pull the window drapes across, plunging the room into near darkness.

Zoro was shaking.

He was literally, teeth-chattering, shaking.

What was it about knowing he was going to get naked with a girl that did this to him?

And yet his pants were tenting out, and in the dim light, Yoko walked back over to him and said, "Zoro, I want you."

Zoro licked his lips and rasped, "And I want you, Yoko. Please."

Yoko pressed herself against him, rested one hand against his cheek, and leaned in to ensnare his mouth in a kiss. Her lipstick had a faint taste of mint, and he savored the warmth of her tongue lapping against his. She reached down for his left arm, grabbed his wrist, and guided it up to her breast.

It was every bit as amazing as Zoro imagined it might have felt. Perfectly round and heavy, firm but yielding just enough to his touch as he groped it, running his hand over the thin material that was all that separated their skin.

They broke the kiss, and Yoko breathed, "Do you have a condom?"

Zoro nodded. "I put one in my wallet earlier."

"Then undress me."

Yoko turned around, and Zoro's hands shook again as he ran his hands down her back, slowly running his hands past her waist, along her ass, curved just right with firm glutes. He caressed her butt, squeezing and kneading as she let out a low moan.

Then down – down her amazing muscular thighs until he finally reached the hem of her dress. Cautiously, he began pulling up, not wanting to tear the thin material as he lifted it slowly off her body. Once he got it over her head, she took over and slipped her arms out of the opening, then lifted it over her head completely and tossed her dress aside.

She turned around, and Zoro could see that she was now clad in only her high heels and nothing else.

"No underwear?" he gasped.

"None. I had just a slight feeling I might end up in bed with a certain green-haired guy," Yoko bantered.

Zoro reached up again, and Yoko let him rub her amazingly warm, luscious round boobs. She whispered, "Suck my nipple."

Zoro didn't need a second to lower his mouth, cupping her right breast as well. He licked and sucked around the hard nub of her nipple, swirling his tongue as he did so. Yoko's loud throaty moans warned him, and he lifted his mouth to enjoy the rest of her breast as well. He lowered his other hand down between her legs, feeling her hot wetness inviting him in as he slid his finger inside her.

After a few moments of fingering, Yoko gently pulled at his hand, whispering, "Later."

Zoro withdrew, and sniffed his finger. Yoko's musky scent was intoxicating, and he stuck his finger in his mouth, tasting her essence. Damn, but she tasted _good_! Maybe next time he'd get to eat her out.

She reached up, and began tugging at Zoro's shirt buttons, then untucked his shirt, ran her hands up his torso, stopping at his chest, humming in pleasure as she then ran her hands slowly over his pectoral muscles. Her hands moved up to his shoulders, and he knew she wanted his shirt off. He shrugged out of his shirt, letting her pull it off his arms and toss it somewhere as he turned back around.

Her hands went down to his pants, and she took the chance to stroke him slowly, her hand running over the fabric. Zoro gasped. Yoko grinned. "You're pretty hung, you know that?"

"I've – maybe had one or two compliments," Zoro managed to get out before she was already pulling his pants and boxers off, freeing his erection as she did so. He kicked off his shoes quickly, then stepped out of his pants as Yoko tossed them somewhere.

Yoko sat up on her knees, clapsed his erect manhood with one hand and held on his hip with the other. She wrapped her mouth around his member, and sparks flew in Zoro's vision as her warm, wet mouth slid down his cock, her swirling tongue doing the most amazing _things_.

His knees trembled as Yoko licked and sucked him to full mast, but all too soon she pulled her head back and stood up, kicking out of her high heels. She went for the condom, tossed it on the bedside table, then pushed him gently down on the bed, lying on his back. She unwrapped the condom, slid it down over Zoro's stiff member, then straddled his waist. She reached out for his hands, locking her fingers with his.

She whispered, "Fuck me, Zoro. Please, fuck me."

Zoro could only watch, panting loudly, as Yoko pushed his hands down against the bed, then lowered herself, her slick, warm opening slowly, teasingly, wrapping itself around his erection. Zoro whined, "Oh, fuck, please—Yoko—"

Yoko just kept slowly breaching herself on him, sliding down until finally, at long last, he was buried to the hilt inside her. She let out a pleased grunt, then began rocking her hips, riding him, sending his nerves jangling as she took him with her to soaring heights of pleasure. Soon, she let go of his hands, bracing herself on his shoulders as he reached for her hips, their sex becoming wilder and frenzied, her breasts heaving as her body shook every time his thrusts met hers.

Soon, the room filled with the sounds of repeated wet smacks and harsh, panting breaths, and Zoro could feel the urge building within him. He squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering, "Yoko—I can't—I'm close!"

She slammed herself down on him, squeezing down _just_ so—

Zoro's vision went white as he unloaded inside Yoko, filling the condom, every jerk of his muscles almost painful in its intensity, until finally the climax left him, and he could move no more.

Just before Zoro passed out, he thought, _I have never come so fucking hard in my life!_

* * *

Zoro blearily woke to a nearly dark room, feeling off-kilter and disoriented as he tried to figure out what he was doing in a strange bed with only a desk lamp throwing a feeble light into the room. Someone else's head was resting on his chest, and he could feel a person's warmth next to him. As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, memories came flooding back within seconds.

He was with Yoko Littner.

And they had just had some fantastic freakin' sex.

She was slumbering next to him, having apparently been just as exhausted after what they'd been doing. He gently shook her, saying, "Yoko? We gotta get out of here."

Yoko shifted, muttering, "Whuh?"

Zoro grabbed her shoulders and tried to pull her up. "Yoko! Wake up, please! We've got to leave!"

Her eyes snapped wide open, and she gasped sharply as she sat up on the bed. "Holy shit! That was scary, being woken up like that."

"Sorry."

"Never mind. You're right, we gotta go. Let's get our shit back on and sneak downstairs," Yoko instructed.

Zoro looked down at himself and said, "Wait a sec. Where's the condom?"

"Took care of it after I got off of you. Don't worry," said Yoko with some asperity, as she was trying to get her dress on and having some trouble trying to do it in near darkness.

Zoro quickly got his clothes all back on, and aside from the slight sticky feeling in his underwear, he was basically presentable. He went over to Yoko and, following her instructions, helped her get her clothes back to a state of presentability.

Yoko turned the desk lamp off, while Zoro carefully turned the door lock. He listened, but didn't hear anyone. He eased the door open, peeking out into the hallway. The lights had dimmed. He dug around in his pockets, finding first his wallet and then his phone. It was now twelve midnight, and he and Yoko had sneaked into the room probably around eight or nine.

The dim lights meant the house had gone into the night cycle, which was good – and bad. Good because they'd be less visible, but bad because it meant they wouldn't be able to see as well.

 _Nothing for it_ , he decided. He reached out for Yoko, who clasped his hand in her own. He slowly opened the door all the way, poked his head out, looked left and right, then walked back out into the hallway with her. They each kept a tense grip as they clasped hands, trying not to disturb people as they walked. Several times as they passed rooms, they could hear the distinct noises of other people having sex.

Yoko said in a low voice, "I really hope we weren't _that_ loud!"

Zoro snorted. "Tell me about it."

Luckily, they made their way downstairs without incident, and smoothly joined the still-strong party, by now filled with guys who were staggering more than they were walking. They could feel the lobby halls and floor thump with the loud beat of the music being played. Yoko slid her hand out of Zoro's, then wrapped her arm around his waist. For the first time, he noticed that in high heels she nearly could match his height. He put his arm around her waist, then grinned at her and slid his hand down to grope her ass. Yoko winked back at him, and slid her hand down into his back pocket to get a grip on his butt as they left the large fraternity house and headed down the road.

The young couple walked like that for some distance, Zoro enjoying the way Yoko's butt flexed as she walked. As they passed under a streetlight near where East Blue Boulevard intersected with Pantheon Road, Yoko stopped them and took her hand out of Zoro's pocket. She looked at him and said, "Wanna come back to my place? I picked up some microbrew beer bottles in case you ever came over."

Zoro grinned. "Sure! Now that I know I won't get lost I can kick back and relax."

Yoko patted his shoulder. "C'mon, loverboy. Let's go. Postscript: Nice ass you got there."

Zoro laughed. "Look who's talking! I could bounce a quarter off of yours, I bet."

Yoko just stuck her tongue out at him and walked with him the short distance back to the house she was staying in. She quietly let them in to her apartment, then closed and locked the door. She hit the lights, and Zoro looked around.

It was pretty small, maybe the size of his apartment, but it definitely looked better-kept. A couch and a TV set made up the living room. Yoko's computer sat at one end of the dining table near the kitchen. He could see the sliding glass door to the back patio, as well. In the kitchen proper, there was just a fridge, a sink and a stove. Her bedroom, he could see, was toward the front of the house. He guessed her bathroom probably was off of her bedroom.

Yoko extracted two beers from her fridge, popped the tops off, then walked over to him, holding one out. He took it, raised his bottle and clinked against hers. "Cheers."

"Likewise."

Zoro took a healthy chug of the cold beer, and gasped. "Man! That feels good!"

Yoko took a sip from her bottle and nodded in agreement. "Not quite whiskey, but it's good." She gestured at the couch. "Hey, wanna sit down?"

"Please!" Zoro sat at one end of the couch, and Yoko took the other end.

Yoko sighed, took another sip, then set her bottle down on the small table in front of the couch.

"Zoro?" she asked.

 _Shit's gonna get serious,_ he thought.

"Yeah, what is it?" He looked at her, seeing concern and worry in her eyes.

"D'you think we went too fast? Earlier tonight?"

"Honestly?" Zoro scratched his head. "I couldn't tell ya. I mean, I've dated in high school but I never quite met someone like you. I mean, you're into guns, you're smart, you're athletic, you're hot – I mean, you're like some kind of dream girl."

Zoro let out a gusty sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is it's nice to be around you and I like you. If you wanna make this thing between us work, I'm happy with taking it anywhere you wanna go. Don't get me wrong, crazy hot wild sex is pretty great, but I kinda get the feeling that just fucking all the time doesn't make a relationship by itself, y'know?"

Something seemed to ease within Yoko, and she smiled. "I'm glad you said that, Zoro. I'm not going to lie, I've had a lot of guys make it clear verbally and nonverbally, that all they want from me is a good fuck. And I guess maybe that colored some of my thinking earlier – just getting the sex out of the way so if it wasn't anything more at least I could say I had a good time with a guy who didn't see me as just tits and an ass and legs.

"But if you want to make something serious of this? I'm thrilled. I really am. You're cute, you're also smart, and even your getting-lost thing is kind of sort of adorable."

Zoro had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. When he could breathe again, he guffawed, " _Adorable_? It's a damn nuisance is what it is!"

Yoko slid down the couch so their legs were touching. She clasped his hand in hers, and nodded. "It's… nice. It's just part of you, Zoro. And don't worry, I'll be your seeing-eye girl."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Sheesh."

"So," announced Yoko as she thumped their hands on his leg. "What say we finish these beers, you can sack out in my bed with me and we'll get that seven-thirty coffee tomorrow?"

"Shit," breathed Zoro. "Classes tomorrow."

"Yep. So c'mon, let's drink fast." Yoko smirked and let go of his hand. "Bet you can't chug your beer faster than me!"

"Oh, it's _on!_ " Zoro grabbed his beer, and tried to match Yoko glug for glug. To his amazement, they both finished at the exact same time.

"Impressive!" Yoko said.

Zoro's eyes went wide. "And where the hell did _you_ learn how to do that?! Nobody was ever able to keep up with me back in school."

"Trade secret." Yoko winked. "C'mon, stud. Let's get to bed, huh?"

Ten minutes later, the beer settling in both of them, Zoro and Yoko were undressed and snuggled together under her bedsheets, the alarm clock set for six thirty in the morning. Just before Zoro dropped off to sleep, he pressed a soft kiss to Yoko's forehead and thought, _how on Earth did she manage to become my girlfriend in less than twenty-four hours?_

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

"Hey, Vivi?"

Nami had just stepped back in from zapping their sub sandwiches. Every floor had a shared kitchen with all the necessaries for students wanting to prepare their own meals, including microwaves.

Vivi looked over at Nami, then back at the shelf over her desk. She hefted the last textbook up and slid it into place beside the others. She nodded, satisfied.

"Yes? What is it?" Vivi said as she reached out for her half of the pizza sub and a soft drink can. Nami plucked the wrapped sub off her plate and handed it to her, then held out the bag she was holding. Vivi plucked a can from it, then went back to her desk.

"Couple of people in the kitchen said one of the big frats along with their sorority are throwing a big kegger. Want to check it out?"

Vivi thought as she took a bite of her sub and chewed. When she could speak again, she said, "Maybe. I mean, I can always just leave if it gets too weird."

"Also: cute guys. And girls," Nami observed with a grin.

Vivi chuckled. "There would be."

"Okay, well, let's eat, then dress up and knock 'em dead tonight, huh?"

"It's a date."

* * *

Nami and Vivi both dressed up in bandage dresses, which ended at mid-thigh. Vivi's was a light grey, while Nami's was sleek black. Vivi had her high-heeled pumps from her prom, while Nami got out her half-calf leather boots.

Vivi ran her hands over the material of her dress and wondered, "Where'd you get these?"

Nami smirked. "There was a guy back in my high school. I swear, he just _melted_ in front of any pair of boobs. But anyway, he was sweet on me for a while and bought me these dresses. I figured, what the hell, I'll go to Homecoming with him as my date and wear one of them. Unfortunately for him, whenever we danced he'd end up trying to come up with some new way to compliment something about me, and it got kinda old."

Nami grabbed her purse, emptied it out onto her bed, then dropped in her phone, a pack of condoms, and a bottle of Mace spray. Vivi dumped her purse's contents out as well, found her phone and dropped it back in. She said, "You have spares?"

Nami nodded, opened the box of condoms and handed her half of them. She then went to her dresser and yanked one drawer open, rummaged around inside, then pulled out a small bottle and tossed it to Vivi. "There ya go. Now you're protected. Let's go knock 'em dead."

Vivi noticed Nami wearing an arrogant smirk as she walked, the heeled boots she was wearing accentuating her walk. Nami tapped Vivi's shoulder. "These boots fucking rock. Watch this."

They breezed along the wide sidewalk past a group of guys playing hacky on the grassy lawn that separated the residences from the fraternity houses, and within about two seconds of Vivi realizing they were going to pass, a chorus of whistles rose up from the guys. Nami just kept walking, Vivi keeping pace with her.

Nami grinned. "See? I love these things. I feel so damn sexy in them, and I don't care who tries to shit on me for it. You can borrow them any time you like."

Vivi laughed. "Not tonight. I think you're gonna get all the attention, and I'm going to probably get enough as it is with this outfit." She sped up to keep walking alongside Nami and said, "See? My boobs keep jiggling!"

Nami snorted. "That's the whole _point_. Now c'mon, work that bod, huh?"

Before long, the two of them ended up on Pantheon Road, and the distant sound of music thumping along with the yells and shouts of an enthusiastic crowd could be heard well before they actually got to the two houses. Vivi said into Nami's ear, "This must be a really popular party!"

Nami nodded. She said, "C'mon, let's hit the sorority first!"

They made their way up to the pillars that indicated Tau Iota Epsilon, and nodded at the two bulky guys standing just in front of them. Just after the girls passed, Vivi heard the bodyguard say, "Girls only, buddy. Step back."

She turned back to look, and saw a guy in the crowd trying to tailgate Nami and Vivi in, but who had been stopped in time. Nami pointed. "Hey, Vivi! That's Yoko! Talking to the blonde!"

The two rushed up to Yoko and they exchanged hugs. Yoko, wearing a sleek dress that left little to the imagination, gestured at the blonde and said, "Nami, Vivi, this is the sorority president, Tanya Valentine."

Vivi suddenly sensed danger emanating from every pore of Tanya's being as she smiled just a bit too widely and extended her hand. Vivi tried not to seem reluctant at taking it. Nami seemed to pick up on Vivi's mood, because she shook hands with Tanya, then said as politely as she could, "It was really nice to meet you. Do you mind if my friend Vivi and I check out the building?"

"Not at all! Just go in."

The two left Yoko to talk to Tanya, then made a bee-line for the free beer. Vivi sighed in relief. "Thank the fates or whatever we got out of there. That girl is _fucking dangerous_ ," she said into Nami's ear.

"I got that vibe, too, but not as strong. Still, you made a face for just a second there and I figured I should bail you out." Nami looked around, then elbowed Vivi. "Three o'clock!"

Vivi looked and saw a tall, black-haired, white woman with a very full figure. She wore a white cowboy hat and wore a top that showed plenty of cleavage. Her dress clearly showed the curvature of her legs. Even though Vivi wasn't sure if she liked girls the way Nami did, she suddenly had an irresistible urge to get a closer look at the woman.

She looked back at Nami, who shook her head and groused, "Damn, and she's probably straight. You know what sucks about being bi?"

Vivi noticed the line was moving. "What, exactly?"

At that moment, they reached the bar and got a couple of cups with beer in them. As they stepped away and moved off to a corner, Nami said, "Twice as many chances to strike out."

Vivi could feel a smile tugging at her lips. She sipped at her beer and said, "True."

The two began wandering the sorority house, but got bored of it after the second floor. They went back downstairs and decided to go across to the fraternity house, garnering more than a few wolf whistles along the way. Inside the frat's lobby, the music was louder and the bellowing was a lot noisier. Faint shouts of "Chug!" could be heard, and Nami and Vivi gravitated towards the back, where on the outside lawn, a lanky guy was lying on the grass and held a tube over his mouth. Two guys held up a beer barrel, to which the tube was connected, and one counted down. "Three! Two! One!"

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" the crowd chanted as the guy began swallowing the seemingly endless stream of beer.

Vivi thought she saw a familiar strand of hair attached to a guy's head, and tugged Nami along. Sure enough, at the edges of the crowd, there were the two guys they'd seen at the food court and then in the bookstore lineup! They were holding cups, as well, and occasionally sipping from them.

As the chants died down and applause rose up from the crowd, someone yelled, "I don't know how you do it, Luffy!"

As they got close enough to talk, Vivi said to the two guys, "Hey. I'm Vivi. You two guys were at the food court the other night, right?"

Their eyes lit up in recognition, and they moved a bit closer to the two women. To Vivi's secret pleasure, the guy with the strand of hair that came off his head answered first and shook her hand. "I'm Rossiu."

"I'm Simon," the other guy said.

While Nami introduced herself, Vivi looked Rossiu up and down. He was somewhat taller than her, as was Simon. Rossiu had on a white button-down T-shirt with crisp black pants, while Simon was wearing a light blue button-down with dark blue pants.

Nami pointed. "And hey, weren't you guys checking us out in the bookstore line-up?"

Simon and Rossiu looked down, their faces flushed as they chuckled nervously. Rossiu looked back up and grinned. "Busted!"

Simon said, "You _are_ kind of – well, make that damn hot, you know."

Nami winked at him. "You guys aren't so bad either."

Vivi nodded in agreement.

Simon put his free hand up to his heart. "Damned with faint praise! You're a _very_ wicked woman, Nami!"

Nami's smile threatened to go to a full grin. She said, "Okay, so now that we all know each other, you guys wanna hang out for a bit and talk? We don't really know anybody else here."

"Same here," admitted Simon. He pointed. "How 'bout over in the corner of the lot, there?"

The babbling sounds died down a bit as they moved away, and Vivi found she could talk normally.

"So what brings you two here?" she asked.

Simon chuckled ruefully. "The frat prez here is my cousin."

Rossiu joked, "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"What's he like?" Nami wondered.

Simon was about to open his mouth when a loud bellow ensued from the back of the frat house. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!"

"That's him," admitted Simon. "Kamina."

The bellow belonged to a tall, muscular guy sporting the _oddest_ glasses ever. They looked like two transparent red triangles that had been merged together, and coupled with the fact that the guy was wearing his shirt unbuttoned, had a beer in his hand, _and_ was nevertheless fearlessly stabbing his finger at a much taller person who looked to be a bit of a sports jock, it all added up to Vivi wondering if he was quite mentally stable.

After a final bellowed remark on the presumed ancestry of the jock, who slunk away in defeat, Kamina grinned around. "Sorry about that, everyone! But we can't let anyone spoil the party, now can we?"

"No!" rose up as one from the people surrounding him and Kamina went back inside the frat house.

Vivi lifted her eyebrows. "Well, he's…"

"Intense?" said Simon. He chuckled. "That's sometimes an understatement. But he's popular and funny, and his VP is the beer-chugging guy, Luffy."

Nami's jaw dropped. " _That_ guy? He should be in the hospital for alcohol poisoning! What the hell is he doing running a frat?"

Simon shrugged. "He's popular?"

Nami let out a snort of disbelief as she shook her head. "Well, at least you two seem to have your heads on straight." She held out her cup and tapped it against Simon's, then Rossiu's, in a brief toast.

Vivi edged closer to Rossiu and said, "So what's your major? Well, for lack of a better icebreaking question."

Rossiu smiled at her. Her stomach seemed to flip inside her. She tried to focus and listened to his answer. "Mathematics. You?"

"Poli-sci."

Simon piped up, "English."

Nami finished off with "Business Admin."

"Hm," muttered Rossiu. In a louder voice, he said, "Who wants to bet two of us have the same class together somehow?"

Vivi frowned. "That should be impossible."

"It's statistics, Vivi. You see—"

Nami broke in. " _Statistics?_ Shit, I don't believe it! It took this long to figure it out?" She smacked her forehead.

Rossiu looked at her. "How'd you guess?"

"You're the math major guy, right? So there's a pretty good chance you're doing a stats class. I have to do stats for my major, so that means for sure we're both in stats one-oh-one first thing tomorrow." Nami sipped at her drink, then pointed. "Am I right?"

Rossiu whistled. "You sure are." He raised his cup in a silent toast. Then he squinted at Nami. "Just a sec. Weren't you in calculus this morning?"

Nami shook her head. "No. You're probably in the class for the math and science stream. I'm in a different lecture period, for the business stream."

"Okay, that makes sense. I thought I remembered your red hair in lecture," Rossiu replied.

Simon broke in and said, "Okay, here're my classes: English Lit, English Composition, plus Chemistry and Biology for my science requirement."

Vivi grinned. "I'm sharing English Comp with you! I'm doing Poli Sci, that Comp class, plus doing Beginner's Astronomy and Japanese."

Rossiu chimed in. "Stats, Calculus, Physics, Comp Sci, and Beginner's Astronomy for the GPA boost."

"Good, you can help me in Astro then," Vivi remarked.

Rossiu bowed. "I live to serve, madam." His grin was infectious, and Vivi couldn't help giggle a bit.

Vivi touched Rossiu's arm. "So, Stats Guy. What are the odds we all share one class each with each other?"

Rossiu stared up at the sky and began mentally shifting numbers around. While he did that, Nami tapped Simon's arm. "Can we get a kind of group study thing going on here? Even if we're not all doing the same subjects I could use the motivation to not slack off."

Simon smiled at her. "Not a bad idea at all!" He flicked Rossiu's shoulder. "Hey, get your head out of the clouds. You hear Nami's study idea?"

Rossiu didn't respond. Vivi nodded and said, "Count me in, too. Now here, I'll help you distract this guy."

She unobtrusively rubbed her free hand on her dress, then stepped beside Rossiu and leaned in, making sure to press her chest against his upper arm, and whispered into his ear, "Back to Earth!"

As she stepped back, Rossiu jolted and looked around. "Shit! What the—?"

The other three laughed and guffawed. Simon slapped Rossiu on the back and said, "Dude! You totally missed getting hit on by Vivi!"

"Wait – you _did?_ " Rossiu hurriedly gulped his beer, apparently not sure if he should believe them.

Nami nodded. "Oh yeah. She was _all_ over you, studlycakes."

Vivi cracked up, dissolving in peals of laughter at Rossiu's flushed face and mortified expression.

After her laughs settled down, pity lanced through Vivi. She put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. Really, it wasn't that bad. I just whispered into your ear to get you to stop your head from being in the clouds."

Nami seemed to realize she'd gone a bit over the line, too, and backed Vivi up. "Yeah. I promise, it wasn't like you started making out with her or anything. Look, I'll make it up to you. Want me to go get more beers?"

Simon blurted, "I'll go with you."

"Sure, c'mon, then, Simon. More hands are always better," Nami announced.

Rossiu leaned against the fence and let out a gusty puff of breath. "Jeez. I guess I kind of overreacted. I wasn't sure if you guys were trying to make fun of me."

"It's okay. I know if I was in your shoes I'd be pretty embarrassed thinking I'd been doing things with a really cute guy without realizing it," Vivi said. She fiddled with her empty cup, then for lack of a better place to put it, set it down by her feet.

When she stood up, she noticed Rossiu's eyes quickly went back up to her face. _This was good_ , she thought. _He was attracted to her, then, if he'd been checking out her butt._ And he certainly was cute, with the way his hair was tied back except for that one strand that just hung down, following the side of his face.

Vivi took the plunge. "Do you mind if I ask if you have a girlfriend?"

"No. Nobody like that." Rossiu looked around and then leaned in confidentially. "Um, I'm actually kinda bi, though? Simon and I sometimes fool around, but we're not serious or exclusive."

"That's bold," Vivi replied, still trying to process while avoiding looking taken aback by Rossiu's admission. She didn't want him to interpret her wrong. "Were you really out about it back home?"

Rossiu chuckled. "Not really, actually. I mean, I'm sure Kamina knows about it but he's never shown any sign he cares one way or the other. And both Simon and I had the occasional girlfriend, too. We don't really advertise that we're friends who have sex."

"So what made you tell me?" Vivi leaned against the fence as well, her shoulder almost touching Rossiu's. She looked up at him. He had really nice eyes.

"You seem trustworthy," Rossiu mused. He tapped the lip of his beer cup, then smiled and nodded. "That's pretty much it."

Vivi bumped shoulders with him and grinned. "Thanks."

Shortly after the comfortable silence descended between them, Nami and Simon came back, bearing more beers.

And somehow, Vivi found Rossiu near her, and her near Rossiu, for the rest of the night. Nami, for her part, seemed to find reasons to sling her arm around Simon's shoulder every now and then, and Simon's arm found its way around her waist. Vivi started to feel pleasantly warm as the beer settled within her.

After a half an hour of increasingly drunken laughter, jokes and small talk, she noticed Rossiu seemed to be looking at his friend and Nami wistfully. She thought she knew what was up, and reached down to take his hand in hers. He looked at her in surprise, then smiled as he locked fingers with her. She said into his ear, "It's okay. I like you, too. I guess I just don't show it as much."

Rossiu leaned over. "Thanks. And I like you too, I just wasn't sure how to… y'know."

Vivi squeezed his hand. "Believe me, I'll tell you if I want you to take your hand off me."

Rossiu let out a short laugh. "Of that, I have no doubt. So, toast to the beginning of a beautiful friendship?" He held up his cup.

Vivi held hers up and they clicked their beers together. "Absolutely."

Then they joined back in the conversation, Nami relating the story of how she'd pulled the rug out from under the local school bully, a high school senior named Arlong.

Simon was the first to check his phone, and groaned. "Shit, eleven-thirty already! Guys, I think we're gonna have to call it a night if Nami and I have any chance of making it to Stats tomorrow."

Vivi nodded regretfully. "I should go to bed, too. I don't want to get into the habit of staying up too late, either."

They made their way through the throngs of people crowding the Phi Alpha house, and the sudden silence felt a bit eerie as the cool night breeze wafted over the foursome as they headed back to the Rez halls.

Rossiu hesitantly put his arm around Vivi's shoulders, and she smiled and pressed closer to him, putting her arm around his waist. To her left, she could see that Simon actually had his hand almost on Nami's butt, while she unconcernedly walked with her arm around his waist.

At the Rez towers, the foursome exchanged phone numbers, and promised to meet for lunch when they all had a break between classes.

After that, they exchanged final hugs good-bye. Vivi hugged Simon briefly, liking the way he didn't squeeze too hard, then gripped Rossiu in a lingering hug, making sure he got a good idea what was squashing against him. As she pulled back, his brief glance down at her chest confirmed her notions.

"Good night, Rossiu! Good night, Simon!"

"And g'night, Vivi! Nami!"

Vivi and Nami waved as they stepped back, then the two women turned and walked into Alabasta Tower, while the two men walked into Lagann Tower.

In their bedroom, Nami turned to Vivi. "Um, I need to ask. Did Rossiu tell you anything about him and Simon?"

"Nami…" Vivi hesitated. "It's really not my place to say. I mean, I think I know what you're talking about, but Rossiu didn't seem to think I should go blabbering about it."

Nami considered. "Yeah. Let's leave it at that. You're right, it'd be a shitty thing to do to Simon, so let's just leave it. When they want to tell us what's up, then we can discuss what it means."

In an obvious effort to change the subject, Nami asked, "So what d'you think? Seemed like you were pretty sweet on Rossiu. But you seem to kinda like Simon a little bit too."

"That's about right," Vivi admitted. She kicked off her high heels, and then began peeling out of her dress. She sighed in relief as the cool air in the room flooded over her, now that the dress wasn't covering her anymore. She began rummaging around in the closet for her nightgown.

"Yeah, I think Simon's pretty cool. But Rossiu's got that kind of slightly reserved geek look that's kind of cute, too. Honestly? I'd do either of them if they wanted." Nami shrugged.

Vivi flushed a bit, but replied, "I guess I wouldn't mind either of them."

Nami licked her lips. She sat on her bed and slowly unzipped her boots. She sighed and looked back up at Vivi, who was shrugging into the nightgown she'd pulled off the hanger. "What about… well, me?"

Vivi, momentarily dumbstruck, began feeling for an answer as she looked Nami up and down. Her figure was, as she'd noted before, very similar to Vivi's own. Personality wise, it was obvious Nami was the sassier of the two. But…

"I… could consider it," Vivi temporized. "I just never _thought_ about doing it with a girl before. It's not _repulsive_ or anything, you understand?"

"Yeah, I get it." Nami sighed deeply, then looked at Vivi, her expression sincere and solemn at the same time. "Tell you what. If you ever want to give it a try, just ask. I promise I'll never push you or nag you, and I'll always keep my hands to myself unless you say otherwise. Deal?'

"Deal." Vivi crawled into her bed and rested her head on the pillow, facing Nami. "Good night, Nami."

"'Night, Vivi. I'll set the alarm clock and get the lights."

* * *

Someone was shaking Zoro's shoulder. He mumbled through a cottony mouth, "Go 'way."

"Wake up, Zoro! It's six thirty in the morning."

Slowly, his brain registered that the voice was female, and—

" _Yoko?_ " his eyes flew open as he pushed himself up on his elbow.

Yoko giggled. "You don't have to act so surprised, Zoro."

Zoro's eyes travelled down Yoko's naked torso, and just for a moment, he considered—

No. He needed to focus. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, leaned in for a quick kiss, then got out of bed. "Okay, what's happening?" he asked as he looked at Yoko.

He noticed _her_ eyes were now travelling down _his_ body, but she got all businesslike as she bounced out of bed herself. "As much as I'd love to shower with you, we're on a pretty tight schedule. So how about we each get ready and meet back here, and I'll walk you to the coffee shop?"

Zoro nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He began rummaging around for his clothes and quickly got dressed. After that, he gave Yoko a quick hug. She rubbed his back and said, "Nice morning so far."

He squeezed her gently, then released the hug. "Likewise. See you outside here."

"Actually, Zoro?" Yoko said. "If I'm not outside, just let yourself back in. I trust you."

Zoro smiled. "Thanks. I'll be back."

Zoro quietly left the house, and walked briskly back to his apartment. He went through a perfunctory morning routine, quickly getting into a casual T-shirt and jeans, and twenty minutes later, he was back at Yoko's house, freshly showered and shaved. As she wasn't waiting for him, he guessed she wasn't quite done yet, so he slipped into her apartment and then locked the door. He settled on the couch and double-checked that he had everything in his backpack for the day.

He pulled out his history text and began leafing through it. His professor had e-mailed a list of short chapter readings to prepare for the upcoming lecture, and he wanted to be prepared for class. He barely registered the noise of the blow-dryer running in Yoko's bathroom, then shutting off.

A warm hand on his back startled him, and he looked up to see Yoko, clad in a towel, smiling down at him. "I'll get dressed and be back out in just a minute."

"No sweat." Zoro checked his phone. "It's only five after seven. My first class is at nine-thirty, so we've got lots of time."

"Yeah, mine's at nine-thirty as well. But less talking, more dressing!" Yoko bounded back into her bedroom, and Zoro could hear the noises of clothes rustling through the open door.

Shortly after, Yoko stepped out, wearing a light blue T-shirt and grey yoga pants. She had her backpack over her shoulder. She announced, "Ready to go."

Zoro stuffed his textbook back into his bag, slung his backpack over his shoulder and stood up. "Me too."

They exited the apartment side door. Yoko locked up, then reached out. Zoro linked his fingers with hers, and they held hands, walking sedately in the cool early morning. The sun was warm, but not oppressive.

"This is my favorite time of year," sighed Yoko. "Not too hot, and I could still go to the beach if I wanted to, but it's not freakin' _broiling_ out."

They were now walking toward the central plaza, the one Zoro remembered had the wide grassy squares and the pool in the center.

"I think winter's all right, actually." Yoko looked at him and lifted an eyebrow. "See, that's exactly the reaction I get from people!" Zoro laughed. "There's something nice about doing exercises in the cold. It really pushes you hard, makes you _work_ because otherwise you'll be shivering too much. I like a good winter jog the most of all."

"To each their own," Yoko pontificated. She pointed. "See? There's the coffee shop, just inside the student union building. It's got its own entrance and exit because it's pretty popular. I heard a lot of people mentioning it yesterday."

They went inside, and that early, it wasn't too busy. In line, Zoro said, "Guess what I like to drink."

"Hmm." Yoko tapped her lips for a second, then snapped her fingers. "Coffee, black, maybe one sugar."

"You're scary, you know that?" Zoro grinned.

"So now guess mine," Yoko urged.

Zoro scratched his head, then said, "Okay, I think you like those whipped-cream lattes, and maybe a little caramel on top?"

"Close! I actually like macchiatos. I usually skip the shot of chocolate or caramel, as well." Yoko saw that the cashier was available, and lightly held his upper arm. "I'll order for both of us. Why don't you get us a table, okay? Just pay me back."

"Sure." He left the line and went to a small round table with two chairs near the window. It afforded a nice view of the courtyard, and he could see the occasional student sitting on the wide benches near the pool, some more sprawled on the grass, but most were walking this way and that to get to their classes on time. He checked his phone again. It was just after seven-thirty.

He turned to see if Yoko was finished, and saw her still at the counter, waiting for her coffee. He took a moment to admire her from the back, then went back to people watching.

Shortly after, Yoko showed up, holding two steaming mugs. She set them down on the table, then went to get a sugar packet and a spoon for Zoro.

"One coffee, black for you," she announced as she took a seat opposite him and crossed her legs.

Zoro stirred in the sugar, then sipped at his coffee. "Mmm, that's nice." He let the warmth suffuse through him, and maybe it was his imagination, but he already felt a bit more alert.

Yoko began sipping at her drink, and smacked her lips. "Just right. Oh, hey, can I get the money for the coffee?"

"Shit. Right, sorry about that." Zoro dug in his pocket, got his wallet out, and handed some money to Yoko.

Yoko set her drink down and got out a little booklet and a pen. She opened it and said, "Remind me again, Zoro, what classes do you have? I know we quickly compared schedules yesterday but I want to get it down in detail. And if my phone dies I want to still be able to have it."

"Sure." He leaned forward. "History, Archaeology, English Composition and Chemistry. History's first up at nine-thirty, then Chem at ten-thirty, English at eleven-thirty, then Archaeology at one-thirty."

"Great! Thanks. When you get a chance shoot me a copy of your whole schedule. Just so you know, today I've got Stats at nine-thirty, Chem with you at ten-thirty, then Physics at eleven-thirty and an engineering class we call Technical Design at one-thirty. That meshes up really nicely. We can have lunch here, if you want."

"Sure. The food court?" Zoro jerked his head in the direction of that part of the building.

"Done," Yoko pronounced. "What do you wanna do after classes? I'll want to make sure I stay on top of my assignments and readings, and you probably do, too, but we could kill a couple of hours before we have to get back to our places."

Zoro knew one obvious thing he'd like to do, but put that out of his head for the moment. He sipped his coffee, then said, "Well, the archaeology department has a small museum on campus. Would you like to check it out?"

Yoko seemed to consider it, then said, "Sure. That sounds like a good idea. I haven't been to too many museums, so you're kind of the expert on them, I guess."

"Yeah, I've been to several exhibits. It's especially rare to find a Japanese one, which is too bad because there are some Japanese swords that are absolutely _beautiful_ , and they're artifacts that date back to six hundred years ago in some cases."

"Wow." Yoko's eyes widened. "What's the oldest sword you've seen? Or heard of?"

"The oldest actual sword-like weapon? There was a museum tour once in Merryville. They had one sword in a glass case that had been dated back three thousand years." Zoro still remembered that day, feeling the tingles in his spine as he saw a piece of human history that had survived all that time.

They talked some more, but had to stop as the clock was edging towards eight-thirty and the coffee shop was beginning to fill up and get too noisy to really keep going. They left the coffee shop, and Zoro held out his hand. Yoko slipped her hand in his, and they walked over to sit on an empty spot on one of the long benches near the fountain pool, which wasn't noisy enough to inhibit conversation.

Zoro tapped Yoko on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" She brushed some hair out of her face and looked at him.

"You know, when I thought about going to university, I kind of had this vague idea of studying hard, going to classes, being buried under schoolwork for four years and not really knowing anyone." He reached up and put his hand on her shoulder. "Instead I meet a beautiful girl and I have the most unusual day and a half with her. Strange, huh?"

Yoko's hand came up and clasped his. Then she let go, put her hand on his leg to brace herself, and leaned in for a short kiss; his hand slid down to rest on the small of her back. She tasted of coffee cream with a hint of the mint in her lipstick. "Well, Zoro, I have to say when I came here I wasn't sure what to expect either, except I was going to have to work hard in my classes." She rubbed his leg and shifted closer to him. "I've found I can play pretty hard too, when it happens."

Zoro laughed. "Oh boy, that's true. I still can't believe our first time together was on a frat bed, or that I've met someone who can slam beers back like I can."

"I'm sure you can keep up with me in a lot of ways besides beer, Zoro," she breathed.

"Wanna find out?" Zoro grinned wickedly.

Yoko smirked and let out a throaty chuckle. She leaned in for a deep kiss, leaving Zoro breathless when she finished. "I definitely do. We'll have all weekend, starting Friday night."

He definitely liked the unabashed red-haired woman named Yoko Littner.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

The large, spacious food court hall was the main attraction of the Student Union Building at Midland U. There was sushi, pizza, Thai fusion, Chinese, and much more. All told, about fifteen shops offered just about anything a university student's palate could want. A couple were even open twenty-four hours a day: the submarine sandwich shop, and a sort of greasy-spoon affair that offered the one all-day breakfast you could get on campus. The coffee shop could be entered from the SUB, or from the outside, as it was one of the most popular shops. As far as the rest of the building went, to the rear were the elevators to the upper floors of the SUB.

There was a university cafeteria contractor which had a couple of large dining halls in the Faculty of Science and in the Faculty of Arts buildings, but the general opinion seemed to be not to waste time on them unless you were able to afford a prepaid meal plan and get a discount each time you ate.

The only thing, mused Zoro, as he ate his chicken chow mein and waited for Yoko to get back with her sushi, was that eating from the food court could get expensive if he did it all the time. Otherwise the food was damn delicious.

Yoko arrived shortly after with her sushi and a drink, and sat down at the rectangular table next to him. The other four seats were, so far, empty. "Hey," she said. "How's your lunch?"

Zoro gave her the thumbs up as he swallowed, then said, "Kinda sucks that I'll have to brown-bag it most of the time, though. Food's kinda pricey."

Yoko made a face. "Tell me about it." She looked down at her purse, startled. "Sorry, my phone just buzzed." She yanked her phone out of her purse and looked at the screen. She smiled and stood up, looking around. She waved, and Zoro could see an electric-blue-haired girl walking up towards them, wearing a casual shirt and jeans. She had her hair done up in a ponytail, like Yoko.

When she approached the table, Yoko said, "Vivi! Hi! I'd like you to meet Zoro … damnit, I'll screw up your last name if I try to say it." She braced her hand on his shoulder as she sat down.

Zoro grinned. "S'okay, Yoko."

Vivi sat down across from him and he extended his hand. "Zoro Roronoa."

"No wonder Yoko didn't want to try and say that," remarked Vivi as she shook hands with Zoro. "I'm Vivi." She pointed between the two of them. "Are you…?"

Zoro looked at Yoko, who looked back at him. He turned back to Vivi, and temporized, "We're dating."

"Looks like Yoko made a good catch, then."

Zoro chuckled, then kissed Yoko on the cheek. "I think so, too."

Yoko snorted as she dunked a sushi roll into her soya sauce. "Don't get your ego all puffed up there, Zoro."

Vivi smiled slightly, then began looking around. She spotted a guy she recognized and waved him over.

As he approached, he saw that the guy had one strand of hair that had escaped the rest of his tied-back hair. The strand followed the outline of his face and seemed to lend him a serious look. Vivi said, "Rossiu! Come on, sit down!"

The black-haired Rossiu was slimmer than Zoro, but he still had muscles, judging from his upper arms and the way his chest curved under his shirt. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and white chino pants.

He sat next to Vivi, opposite Zoro and Yoko, and said, "Rossiu Adai." After that, introductions went around the table.

They were shortly joined by two more people, the dark blue-haired Simon Giha with a similar build to Rossiu (he pronounced his last name "Jeeha"), wearing a brown T-shirt and blue jeans, and the rather attractive orange-haired Nami Cocoyashi, who wore a short black skirt that went down to about a quarter of the way down her thighs, and a tight green long-sleeved shirt.

The four who'd joined Zoro and Yoko were clearly friends, and Yoko explained she'd met Nami and Vivi in the bookstore lineup and they'd promised to keep in touch with her. The new arrivals had a brief discussion about what to eat, and decided to just split a pizza among them. Vivi was dispatched to get it; in the meantime, comparing notes on professors and classes was the order of the day.

Rossiu was saying, "Nami and I were in Stats this morning, and man, the prof could've put us right to sleep! Boring monotone _all_ lecture!"

Nami, seated on Yoko's other side, made a "blech" gesture and rolled her eyes.

Zoro shook his head. "Rough luck! My profs are all pretty okay, nothing to write home about but it's not like they come with built-in sleeping pills either. Hey, what about you, Yoko?"

"I know what you mean about the Stats class, Rossiu; I'm in it too. I'm so glad I'd had a macchiato before that class!" Yoko paused to eat some sushi, then gushed, "But oh man! My Physics class! The prof seems pretty young, and she seems to pull you in and keep you actually interested; now I know I have something to look forward to after Stats!"

"What, not seeing me after three straight hours?" Zoro joked.

Yoko stifled a laugh and thumped Zoro's arm. "Okay, yes, you too, Zoro. Geez, gimme a break." She stuck her tongue out at him, then resumed her lunch.

Vivi arrived shortly after that with the pizza, and everybody got down to eating, as it was already ten to one and some of them would need to take off to their respective afternoon classes soon.

Rossiu said in between bites of pizza, "Listen, Zoro, I was thinking of getting a TV set and a gaming console setup for the room Simon and I are staying in. You play?"

"Sometimes. I wasn't like, a super expert at it but I had a couple of friends who let me play games with them."

"Cool. Well, you wanna come visit sometime and check it out when I get everything together?"

Zoro shrugged. "Why not?"

Yoko broke in. "Got room for a girl?"

"No way, Yoko! That's cool!" Zoro enthused.

Rossiu's eyebrows went up, but he just said, "Sure, but our room's not exactly that big."

Yoko waved her hand. "I can just sit with my back against this big guy here." She clapped Zoro on the shoulder and grinned, then drank off her soft drink.

Zoro tried not to imagine Yoko pressed up against him, his arms around her waist as she blasted enemies or flew ships or whatever. He quickly turned his attention to finishing the last of his chow mein, then sighed in satisfaction as he drank off the last of his soft drink as well.

Rossiu was smiling. "I'm sure we can make space for that arrangement."

Yoko gave him the thumbs up, then began rummaging around in her backpack.

Vivi tapped Rossiu on the shoulder after she finished her pizza slice, and the two of them fell into their own conversation. Zoro didn't need to be a psychologist to see the attraction between them, and so just waited for Yoko to finish finding what she was looking for.

She exclaimed, "Oh, good! I thought I'd forgotten my technical drawings textbook. I need to review real quick before class."

Zoro checked his phone. "Shit," he barked. "Guys? Sorry to run off on ya but I've got a class and so does Yoko, at one-thirty. Can I get your phone numbers sometime, if you wanna hang out?"

Scattered calls of "Sure!" "Of course!" came from the table.

Vivi tapped his arm. She slipped him a piece of paper. "Just text me; I'll get you everybody else's number later today, okay? Yoko already has my number and Nami's, as well."

"Thanks." He waved to the table at large, then said, "Gotta run!"

He briskly walked out of the SUB, Yoko a half stride behind him. In the courtyard, he quickly yanked out his cell phone and looked at the university map. He was starting, he thought, to get the hang of things here and he had fifteen minutes. "Hey, Yoko? Meet me outside my arch class?"

"Sure thing! Sorry to be in such a rush but I wanna make it to Applied Sciences." She reached out, and Zoro grabbed her up in a quick hug. After they separated, they took off for their respective classes.

Zoro, to his amazement, made it to his archaeology class inside the Faculty of Arts building without getting lost, and on time to boot.

The day was looking up, he thought.

* * *

Archaeology proved mildly interesting for Zoro. The professor clearly understood most people in the 101 class were there for a course on their transcript, rather than as a specialty, so he tried to keep it fairly general. He liked that: dip your toe in the water, so to speak, and then see if you like it.

As class broke up for the day, Zoro remembered Vivi's number, and texted her to ask for the phone numbers of the other three people he'd met. Then he stuffed his phone in his pocket and ambled out of class to wait for Yoko in the main hall of the Faculty of Arts building. He saw that the museum entrance was down at the other end, and it looked like the place was open.

While he waited, his phone buzzed. Vivi had texted back the other phone numbers and left a short note asking to say hi to Yoko for her. He smiled and replied back, "Sure, but the kiss she gets from me is all mine."

Her answer to that was short and simple: " :-P "

A few moments later, Yoko was entering through the automatic sliding doors and spotted Zoro. She waved, came up to him and said, "Hi! How was your class?"

"Not bad. Yours?"

"Surprisingly not boring as hell. We didn't get real in-depth yet, so it seems like what I know is a bit ahead of most of the students," Yoko said.

"Oh, Vivi says hi, by the way."

"Good, you got everybody's numbers, then. Can I get them from you and put them in my phone now, if you don't mind?" Yoko dug around in her bag for her phone.

"Sure, no sweat – and hey, this is from me." He planted a kiss on her lips.

"It better be! I'd be worried if Vivi was possessing you and trying to kiss me," said Yoko, a wry expression on her face.

A moment later, and Yoko handed back Zoro's phone. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and said, "Museum?"

"Museum." Zoro smiled. "It's just this way, here."

She linked her fingers with his, and it was starting to feel natural to Zoro to walk hand-in-hand with her like this. They turned at the sign and walked past the doors into the museum proper.

A map showed that it was sectioned off into rooms with different exhibits for different eras, with one larger room for special exhibits. An information pamphlet from the rack below the map read, "These exhibits are intended to give the viewer a feel for the number and variety of artifacts archaeologists have unearthed from around the world." It went on in some detail about the civilizations featured, giving vital statistics such as approximate era, notable leaders, and so on.

"Huh," Zoro muttered. He handed the pamphlet to Yoko, who quickly skimmed it then handed it back to him for him to stuff back in the rack.

Soft, indirect lighting lent a cozy air to the hallway, and in each room, the exhibits were well-lit, and showed samples from historical periods in human history. The first room they entered was devoted to artifacts from Mesoamerican civilizations prior to the rise of the Olmecs.

For the most part, Zoro observed, the weaponry wasn't really emphasized; the curators seemed to focus more on objects of religious and cultural significance to the daily lives of the peoples who lived so long ago. But in the North American Indian room a ways down the hall, when they came to it, there were some good-quality spear heads, showing decent workmanship.

Fortunately, Yoko didn't seem bored, and occasionally asked him what he thought of an artifact she saw as they moved from room to room.

When they entered the room that featured Egyptian artifacts, the many well-crafted gold rings, necklaces and earrings took Yoko's breath away, and even Zoro was impressed at their beauty. Yoko whispered, "Even after three thousand years! Even if they've been restored, they're still lovely."

She held out her free hand. "Think I'd look good with one of those?"

"You probably would! But you'd have to worry about the gold bending if it's too pure, and what if some jerk stole it?" Zoro pointed out.

"Hmpf. Getting one of those would probably cost a million dollars, anyway." She got a wistful look on her face. "But y'know, sometimes I have this daydream about getting an engagement ring and all that, and I sometimes wonder what it would feel like, having a ring on my finger that says, 'this guy is going to marry me.'"

Zoro's eyebrows went up. "I never really thought about that. Well, I mean, not too much, but to me it always seemed more like the ceremony itself is the important part."

"Look at us, getting all serious in the middle of a museum." Yoko grinned and tugged at his hand. "C'mon, let's check out the rest, hmm?"

"Sure." Zoro allowed Yoko to pull him along to the next exhibit room, and he soon lost himself in raptures at seeing rare Japanese Wakizashis on exhibit in the last room before the large exhibits hall. He leaned in to examine the exhibits closely and began talking, almost in a stream of consciousness.

"Look! I can see my reflection in the blade!"

"Zoro."

"… and the handle! Look at the raised design, Yoko; it's _fascinating!_ "

" _Zoro._ "

"I heard a legend that said there was a cursed blade somewhere, and it'll always cut anyone who tries to use it—"

" _ZORO!_ "

Zoro stood up and blinked. "Whahuh?!"

Yoko was pulling at his arm and trying to bodily drag him out of the room. She laughed and said, "You're like a big kid around those kind of things, aren't you?"

Zoro looked at the floor, a bit abashed. "I guess you're right. Everybody's kind of got that one little thing they have a bit of an obsession about, though, right?" He grinned as he looked back up at her. "What about if I got you in a room full of, I dunno, Civil War guns or something?"

Yoko's lips pursed as she managed to repress a wide grin. "Busted. Well, I promise not to tease you too much about yours, okay?"

Zoro pulled Yoko in for a short kiss. "Okay."

They went through the large hall, which featured full suits of armor as well as large urns and vases; after that, the twosome left the museum and re-entered the main hall of the Faculty of Arts building. Yoko checked the time and said, "This is really all the time we can spend together today; I really want to stay on top of things. I hope you understand."

"Absolutely!" Zoro reached up and grasped Yoko's shoulders. "I gotta keep my eye on the ball, too. How about I call you tonight?"

"Sure! We can make plans then. And thanks for understanding," Yoko answered. "Now, c'mon, stud, let's go home."

The two of them had a pleasant walk back to East Blue Boulevard, and Zoro parted ways with Yoko at her house, but not before a very long, lingering kiss that portended some very interesting times ahead.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

After a small supper and a few hours of reading ahead in his courses, Zoro realized he had no classes on Thursday. He wondered if Yoko had any, and decided to call her. It was only nine-thirty, so she should still be awake.

Sure enough…

"Hey, Zoro! I wasn't sure if you were gonna call tonight. What's up?"

"I guess I kind of wanted to hear your voice," he admitted.

"That's sweet. And it's nice hearing you, too. So what can I do you for?"

"Actually, I was wondering. Do you have classes tomorrow?"

"Huh!" Zoro heard some noises, as though Yoko were consulting something. "No, I don't, and I just realized this means we could hang out tomorrow if you wanted. I honestly have no idea why I blanked on that, but there's a stats assignment I've already started and I figured it would take me a bit longer to do. _But_ I'm already partway through, so I have some free time tomorrow. Is that all right?"

"More than all right!" Zoro grinned. "What do you feel like doing? Grab a movie, or just go for a walk, or…?"

"How about this. Why don't you come over and look at my DVD collection? If there's a movie you haven't seen, we can put it on and I'll watch it with you." Yoko quickly added, "And I can make us some lunch."

"That's cool. Don't put yourself out too much on my account; I'm not too picky, honestly. But the movie thing sounds nice," Zoro replied.

"Great! Okay, just come on over around, say, eleven or so."

"It's a date."

He could definitely hear the smile in her voice as she said, "Have a good night, sweetie."

The phone beeped in his ear, and he chuckled. "Sweetie?" he said to himself and shook his head. Well, she must really like him, he decided.

* * *

Zoro woke up at nine the next morning and, after getting ready for the day and throwing on a tank top and board shorts, decided he had enough time to get over to the fencing club and see if he could sign up yet. The poster he'd seen during the campus tour said they had an office in the Student Union Building, on the second floor, although he didn't quite remember the room number.

That was enough, however, to keep him from getting lost as he retraced the now familiar footsteps and went to the back of the food court hall. He took an elevator up to the second floor, then got out and looked around. There was a lobby-like room that had a central walkway, and to either side of it were kiosks for printing if you didn't have your own printer, photocopiers ("5 cents a copy!" the signs said), and some tables and chairs that were apparently intended for people who wanted a quieter space with their laptops than what the food court normally offiered. A brown-haired, wiry guy dressed in casual clothes walked past Zoro, acting like he seemed to know the place. Zoro said, "Um, excuse me?"

He turned around abruptly and when he saw Zoro, he said, "Huh! Sorry, I had something on my mind. What's up?"

"Where's the fencing club office?"

At that, the guy grinned. "Talk about a coincidence! I'm just about to go open up for sign-ups. I'm Basam, by the way."

"Cool. I'm Zoro." He stuck his hand out, and Basam shook hands with him, then gestured for Zoro to come with him. He led Zoro to the end of the lobby, then took a right, then a left, leading him to the front of the building. At one of many doors in the hallway, Basam stopped, pulled out some keys from his pocket, and opened the door. Zoro saw a small metal plate riveted to the door that read, "Fencing Club" and below it was "Archery Club".

Inside the room were two desks and a few chairs. On the left side were some fencing posters and on the right, some posters of archers. Zoro didn't imagine either club got a lot of members.

Basam rounded the battered wooden desk, booted up the computer, then rummaged around inside a drawer and pulled out a clipboard with a signup sheet. Zoro noticed there weren't a lot of names. "How many people _do_ you have, anyway?"

Basam sighed. "Not that many. Maybe we'll get more when we do our first demo in a month. How serious a fencer are you?"

Zoro grinned. "I got started when I was twelve. I had this sensei who put me through a _lot,_ but it was worth it, 'cause I can fence with two swords now."

"Nice! Sounds like we'll get some competition going at practice next week!" Basam grinned. "Oh, just write down what days of the week are good for you and I'll e-mail around a practice time. I need a couple of bucks for dues, but there's no rush."

Zoro checked his wallet and extracted a couple of dollar bills, which Basam locked up in a small change box. He stuck his hand out again. "Welcome to the club!"

"Cool," Zoro said as he shook hands. "So how long have you been club leader?"

"A couple of years now. I kind of had this position fall into my lap when nobody else wanted it."

"How serious a player are _you_?" wondered Zoro.

"Fairly. It's pretty cool. I took up fencing when I was a junior in high school, and I liked it." Basam grinned. "And don't worry. Our group may be small, but we are mighty in spirit."

Zoro grinned. "Well, I see this club's in good hands, then."

"Yeah. I just wish we had the money to really put on some good events. The student union gives every club some money to do things like rent equipment or whatever. The fencing club usually gets enough to be able to reserve the gym one night a semester for a public demonstration during the day. Otherwise we have to sign up for a limited number of slots per semester in afternoons and evenings for meetings and practice. That's why I'm asking for people's free slots right away, so I can jump on a good time slot. And listen, if you know anyone who might wanna watch our sessions, they're more than welcome."

"Might know a couple people," Zoro replied. He checked the time and said, "I gotta head out; I'm meeting someone in a while."

"Cool. See you soon, Zoro." Basam waved, and then looked at his monitor and swore. "Aw, man! I gotta call tech support _again_."

As Zoro left, Basam was dialling numbers on his phone, then slumped in his seat, an exasperated look on his face.

* * *

It was close to eleven o'clock when Zoro made it to Yoko's apartment door. He knocked at Yoko's door, and shortly after, she opened it and smiled. "Zoro! Hey!"

She had her hair done up in her regular ponytail, and was wearing a loose-fitting shirt that went down to just below her butt. Her feet were in slippers.

Zoro, chagrined, said,"Sorry! I didn't think you were still getting ready—"

She waved that off. "Don't worry about it. I was having a bit of a lazy morning after I realized part of my stats assignment involves stuff we haven't quite covered yet. Come on in!"

Zoro saw her eyes quickly flick down and then back up, taking in his clothes. He stepped inside Yoko's apartment, and she pointed at the television set. "I got my DVD player hooked up and the DVDs unboxed. Help yourself and then we'll sit down and watch something, okay? What do you drink? Besides beer, that is?"

Zoro crouched down and looked at the DVD rack. As he ran his finger down the DVDs, peering at the names of the movies, he called back, "Just a Coke or whatever's fine."

He heard the distant clacks of cups on the counter, the tinkling of ice, then the noise of drinks being poured as he plucked out the _Gladiator_ movie from the rack, then sat down on the couch.

Yoko stepped over to the couch, set both drinks on the small coffee table and looked over at the movie. "Interesting choice!" She took it from him and popped it into the DVD player. She turned her head and caught Zoro looking at her. " _Zoro_ ," she jokingly admonished.

"What can I say? You have nice legs, Yoko." Zoro grinned.

"Perv," Yoko replied without heat as she grabbed the remote control, then threw herself back on the couch next to Zoro, their legs touching. She put her left arm around his shoulders, then thumbed the play button.

He grabbed his drink, then as he sat back, he put his right arm around her shoulders and settled in to watch the movie.

The time flew by, and by the time the credits rolled, two empty glasses sat on the coffee table. Yoko said, "That was nice, watching it again. I haven't seen it in several months."

"Hm. It's somewhat historically inaccurate, from what I know of Roman history, but I can live with the need to make it more movie-like. You know, evil bad guy gets beaten by the good guy and all that."

Yoko chuckled. She turned her head to look at him, and Zoro turned his head as well. Their lips, almost touching, came together as if a magnet had been pulling them together. Yoko hooked her leg over Zoro's as her soft lips caressed his. Zoro's free hand came down to her thigh; he enjoyed the feeling of her firm thigh muscles as his hand moved along it, up to her hip.

They slowly drew apart, and Zoro swallowed nervously, his lips suddenly dry. He rasped, "That was—"

"Unexpected," Yoko breathed. She blinked, seemed to come back to herself, and said, "Um, as much as I liked that I should really get lunch started."

"Yeah, good idea," Zoro said. He laughed ruefully as he lifted his arm from her shoulders. "We could spend all day doing that and a lot more, y'know."

Yoko giggled and stood up. "As fun as that sounds, we shouldn't get into that habit. Anyway, lunch. What do you want?"

She led Zoro to the fridge, opened the door and pointed with her right hand, resting her left hand on his shoulder. "Sandwich meats, cheese – there's probably something you'd like. If not—" She shut the fridge door and opened the freezer "—there's these frozen-dinner things I grabbed because they were on sale." She moved away to get some bread out of the cupboard. "Me, I'm going to have a cold cut sandwich."

Zoro thought for a second, and while he did, Yoko leaned back against the counter and said a little uncertainly, "If you really want, I could fry up some chicken, but I was hoping to save that for another time."

"Oh! Yeah, don't go to _that_ much trouble; I know how expensive chicken can get! Just a cold cut sandwich is fine for me, too, if you don't mind toasting the bread a bit. Oh, and cheese on the sandwich."

"No problem!" Yoko gave him a gentle shove on his chest and pointed at the small square dining table. "Now you just sit at the table there and leave the hostess to her work. You can return the favor at your place when I come over."

Zoro grinned. "Deal!" He sat in the chair opposite the space where her laptop currently sat.

As Yoko prepared the lunch, Zoro said, "I signed up for fencing club this morning. Would you wanna watch my sessions? The club leader said anyone can watch if they want."

"Huh! Well, I could give it a shot and see if I like it. Would it bother you if I didn't, though?"

"Well, I guess I'd be a bit bummed, but shit, I'm sure there are things you do that might not click with me either." Zoro shrugged. "So yeah, I'd like it if you could see how it goes, but if you don't, you don't."

"That's fair." Yoko quickly flipped her sandwich in the frying pan, then got two plates out. She went to the fridge and said, "It's five o'clock somewhere. Want a beer to go with lunch?"

"Yeah. But just one," cautioned Zoro.

She pulled a bottle out of the fridge, got the lid off with her bottle opener, and handed it to Zoro, then returned to the stove to keep an eye on things.

He took a sip. "Yep, still pretty damn good beer."

"Oh, it wasn't just the afterglow of sex that made it that good, huh?" Yoko said, turning her head to wink at him.

Zoro nearly choked trying not to spray beer everywhere, and finally, when he could trust himself to swallow it down the right way and speak again, spluttered, "You're a hazard to my health, woman!"

Yoko just sent him an evil grin, then after putting the sandwiches on plates, cutting each one in half, grabbed a beer for herself out of the fridge. She came up to the table and placed his plate before him, then sat in the chair to Zoro's right. "Chow time!"

Zoro took a bite of his sandwich. "Not bad!"

Yoko lifted one eyebrow. "Is that 'not bad' as in 'this thing makes me want to blow chunks but I'm too polite to say', or 'not bad' as in 'actually pretty good but not quite there for some ultimately trivial reason'?"

"The second one. Absolutely." Zoro grabbed a napkin out of the rack on the table and wiped his mouth.

Yoko's lips curved into a small smile. "I'll take that as a compliment on my cooking, then."

Silence fell as they ate, but it wasn't that kind of oppressive silence Zoro knew came with being near someone you were faking being happy being around. That was a good signal, he thought.

Yoko's phone blared suddenly, and she jumped, startled. "Shit! I'm sorry; I didn't think anyone was gonna call today." She rushed to grab her phone from her bedroom and came back out. "Hello?" she said into it.

"Oh, hey! Nami! … You're where? … Cool. Sure, Zoro's here. Let me ask him."

Zoro looked over at her, eyebrows raised. Yoko said, "Nami and her friends – you remember them, Vivi, Simon and Rossiu – they're playing Ultimate Frisbee on the school grounds near here. D'you want to join them?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Yoko said into her phone, "We'll come out in about fifteen minutes. Is that okay? … See you then!"

She ended the call. "They're just starting to play now, and I want to get changed and I see you're just finishing your sandwich."

"Okay." Zoro turned back to the table and polished off his sandwich, then drank his beer. Meanwhile, he could hear the rustling in Yoko's bedroom as she got some clothes on. As Zoro finished his beer and plunked the bottle down next to his empty plate, Yoko came out, wearing loose knee-length sports shorts and a form-fitting sports tank top.

"I'm ready!" she said. "Can you get that stuff in the sink for me?"

He picked up the plates and empty beer bottles and placed them in the sink, then quickly washed his hands and dried them off with a paper towel. He went over to Yoko, who had her keys in her hand. "All right, Zoro. Let's go kick some ass at Frisbee!"

* * *

Two hours later, a tired but happy Zoro raised his arms in victory. "Last one standing!" he crowed.

"Oh, fuck off," Simon groaned, lying on the grass a few feet away from him. Rossiu, sprawled out opposite Zoro about twenty feet away, waved his middle finger. Both of them had given up just then, falling to the grass and moaning in relief.

Nami and Vivi, propped up on their elbows near Yoko, just grinned widely at the banter. They had played for an hour, then decided to sit the game out early, correctly guessing that Yoko's, Zoro's, Simon's and Rossiu's competitive instincts would carry the game far beyond when it should have been called off.

Yoko herself had sat down, exhausted, on the grass a few minutes ago, her chest heaving with the effort of sprinting, jumping, and tossing a Frisbee at lightning-fast speed during the two-hour game.

Zoro, for his part, could definitely feel the burn and he wanted to just stop and slump on the grass. But damned if he'd let the rest of them think he was out of condition! He resolved to restart his nightly jogs, starting that Thursday night.

He wiped his forehead and said, "What d'you all want to do now?"

"Ha! I'm not fucking going anywhere, Zoro," Rossiu called out.

"Yeah, you're just gonna have to have your little victory party by yourself, asshole," Simon chimed in.

Nami said, "Rain check! Sorry, Zoro. Vivi and I are gonna go eat soon, anyway."

Vivi called out, "Still, Zoro, you played a really good game. That's your reward!" She grinned and winked.

Yoko said, "Guys? Seriously though, we should get together for a pub dinner sometime. There's one near where Zoro lives; it's called the Devil's Fruit."

Rossiu sat up. "Now _that_ I could go for sometime! How's their beer?"

Yoko jerked her head towards Zoro, and he said, "Not bad. We could grab a pitcher, split some chips."

Simon sat up as well. "Let's figure that out some other time. Right now I just wanna go home and shower. Fuck, I _stink_! And there's grass all over me. Damnit."

The group of six broke up then, saying their good-byes. "We'll do this again sometime," Nami promised.

Yoko joined Zoro as they trudged back to her place. He looked back and saw the other four players were far enough away, and finally gave in to his mounting exhaustion as he bent at the waist, his hands on his knees. Yoko's hands on his back and shoulder steadied him.

"Zoro, you are such a—!" Yoko let out an exasperated growl. "You're being an idiot, turning the game into a one-up contest! And now you're paying for it."

Zoro slowly pushed himself back up, and let his shoulders slump as he slowly walked with Yoko. "I guess you're right. It's just, I had this sensei back home. He always pushed me – pushed me to be just a bit better every day, and yeah, I know he meant it mostly for fencing, but it's – I guess it came back when I started feeling competitive, the juices flowing, the game getting me going, you know?"

Yoko sighed. "I guess I can understand that. Being a girl interested in engineering can feel a bit like that, but even I know when to quit. You saw, I sat down when I was good and done. We _do_ have limits, Zoro."

"But there are times when you _should_ transcend them, too, Yoko," he pointed out.

"Ultimate Frisbee doesn't necessarily have to be where you do it, though. I mean, it's supposed to be for _fun._ " Yoko brushed stray strands of hair out of her face and looked at Zoro.

Zoro ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. He made an indistinct noise at the back of his throat, not sure how to answer her.

Yoko said, "I'll drop it for now. I'm tired and I _really_ need that shower." A lascivious smile crossed her face. "In the interest of saving water, how about you shower with me?"

Zoro perked up. Now _that_ was a fun aftermath of Ultimate Frisbee!

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!

Also, yes, "Basam" here is a cameo character from Ayala's ATLA fic, "Cause Some Trouble"! :-)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

The water cascaded down in the shower, unheeded as Zoro's soapy hands slid over Yoko's shoulders, then down, sliding in between her breasts, then his left hand kept running further down her torso, soaping her stomach while he ran his right hand back up, his fingers making a V as he slid them back up between her breasts, then finally giving in to their enticing firmness as he slid his hand over her gorgeous mounds, thoroughly groping them as he rubbed soap all over them.

Yoko, her hands braced on Zoro's shoulders, hummed in pleasure as he slowly ran his hands over her, cleaning her while enjoying the feel of her body. Daringly, he slipped his hand down past her stomach, briefly rubbing soap through the slight patch of hair over her pubic mound, before sliding his hands back up over her hips and sides.

Reluctantly, he said, "Turn around."

Yoko did so, pulling her hair over her shoulder as she did so. Zoro began running his hands up and down her strong back, rubbing and kneading her back and shoulder muscles, garnering loud moans of pleasure as he did so. Then he crouched down, soaping her wondrous glutes as he caressed her ass, then taking care to rub and knead her legs, finishing with her feet to completely clean her body.

By that time, Zoro had given up any hope of hiding it: he was absolutely rock-hard from that soaping-up session.

Yoko moved away in the combination bathtub and shower to rinse herself off, then leaned over, letting the water soak her long hair. When it was sufficiently wet, she stood back up, and said, "change places."

Zoro let the water cascade over him while she squeezed some of the excess water out of her hair. Yoko then said, "Shampoo later. Now let's get you all cleaned up."

Zoro moved the shower head so the water wasn't hitting his back anymore, and set his feet so he wouldn't slip as she soaped him up.

Still, it was a surprise how amazing her hands felt on him, the soap giving them just enough friction to feel her hands against his, but not so they didn't slide almost effortlessly over him. His breathing quickened as she slid her hands slowly, sensually over his chest, taking care to rub his nipples before sliding down his torso and abs.

She knelt down, her hands teasingly avoiding his hardness as she soaped his legs, her rubbing and massaging helping work the kinks out as she did so. She had him turn around, and her hands rose up the back of his legs, massaging his glutes, then as she stood up, she rubbed and kneaded his back and shoulder muscles, prompting pleased grunts from him as she worked out all the kinks from the Ultimate Frisbee.

Finally—

"Turn around."

Yoko, slowly and deliberately, grasped his erect cock with one hand and began soaping it, while her other lathered up his balls. He gasped and held her shoulder to steady himself. She took her hands away, and leaving him stiff as hell, said, "Rinse off."

Zoro did so, then said, "Shampoo?"

She smirked. "Later. Shut the shower off."

He did so, and as soon as the water stopped flowing, Yoko reached out and began stroking Zoro's manhood, her firm, swift strokes threatening to release the tension so fast—

"Yoko!" he blurted.

That was enough time for her to crouch to her knees and take him into her mouth. Between the swirling of her tongue around his erection – seeing her mouth wrapped around him – feeling the warmth enveloping him, the first sudden, sharp jerk of his hips happened almost before he realized he was coming.

He gasped, his breath ragged as his body jerked, each pulse sending his jism into Yoko's mouth, and finally, after one last gasp and a jerk of his hips, his body stilled, his legs quivering as he came down from his high.

"Holy _shit!_ " he breathed.

Yoko slowly moved her head back, milking him of the final drops of his essence as she did so. Then she stood up, visibly swallowing as she did so. "I like your taste," she said.

He weakly chuckled. "Glad you do."

"C'mon. Let's do your hair while you rest up. Water," she instructed.

Zoro turned the taps back on, and the hot water running down over him roused him a bit. Yoko pulled him away from the flow just enough so she could get at his head without the shampoo running back off it, and squirted a glob from the shampoo bottle into her hands, then ran her hands over his scalp, rubbing the shampoo thoroughly into his hair. It was definitely a nice feeling.

Soon, Yoko was finished and Zoro quickly washed all the shampoo out of his hair, then quickly rinsed any remaining soap or shampoo off of him and cleaned off his by now semi-hard dick.

Yoko handed him the shampoo bottle and said, "Help with my hair, please."

And between the two of them, Zoro running his hands through Yoko's hair on her head to massage her scalp, while she ran her hands through the long strands of hair, they got her hair pretty well cleaned up, and she rinsed her hair off afterwards.

Zoro wanted to return the favor to Yoko, and he called out, 'Water off, Yoko."

Yoko shut the water off, then turned to him, frowning. He reached up and held her face as he leaned in to kiss her. She grinned into the kiss as he held her shoulder with his left hand while he slipped his right hand down, in between her legs. She shifted to give him better access, and he slid his hand across her opening, already feeling a slick wetness that wasn't water. He pushed his finger inside of her, and as she pulled away from the kiss, her eyes fluttered shut as she whispered directions to him, resting her chin on his shoulder

Soon, he had two slick fingers pistoning in and out of Yoko while his thumb rubbed her clit, and her breathing got louder and faster. Zoro held her closer, his left arm wrapped around her while his right hand worked her insides. Her chest heaved against him as she wrapped her arms around him, her hands gripping his back, nearly clawing him as her climax approached.

Finally, a few more strokes and Yoko's body jerked as she screamed, "Agh!" and her fingers nearly broke the skin in his back as her fingers clenched against him. She shook mightily as the waves of pleasure flew through her, each time her muscles tensing and her insides clenching at his fingers, as she wordlessly gasped out, "Hngh!" through clenched teeth.

But finally, she let out one last feeble grunt, and her body went limp against Zoro as he carefully slid his fingers out of her. He licked his fingers and hand, savoring the slightly tangy taste of Yoko's fluids.

He reached up to turn the taps on, and as Yoko came back to herself, she smiled sheepishly at him and the two rinsed off the last traces of their mutual fun together.

* * *

Zoro, a towel wrapped around his waist as he sat at the edge of Yoko's bed, heard a faint gargling from the bathroom followed by the momentary rush of water from the tap. Shortly after, Yoko entered the bedroom, now clad in a bathrobe with a towel wrapping her hair into a bun at the top of her head.

He said, "So was that good for you?"

"Have to be a complete idiot to not think that was a damn good shower, Zoro."

He winked at her, and she smiled down at him. "And hey, Zoro? Thanks for coming over."

"My pleasure."

Yoko sat down on the bed next to him. She reached out for his hand and clasped it; her smooth skin felt warm against Zoro's.

"Can we talk? About something important?" Her face was earnest.

"Sure, of course. What is it?"

"Do you remember we talked about whether we're going too fast, and then Vivi asked about us and neither of us was exactly sure what to say?"

"Yeah." Zoro frowned. "I see what you mean. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now? Are we, like, exclusive? Or…?"

"I was thinking last night and again this morning, and – to tell you the truth, Zoro, I would really like it if we could be that: boyfriend and girlfriend, exclusive." She smiled tentatively.

Zoro's eyebrows went up. "Mind if I ask why?"

Yoko shifted closer and ran her thumb over the back of his hand. She looked down at their joined hands, then back up. She said softly, "Because I like you. And because I think we've got a good thing here and I'd be an idiot to pass it up."

"Then I have zero problem with it, Yoko. As of right now, you're my hot, smart girlfriend." Zoro smiled. "And it's not just that you _are_ hot. You… you're – it's like, even when we're not talking to each other and just eating in the same room, or when you're letting me in your house when you're in the shower – it's just _right_. Like we kind of fit each other, like puzzle pieces."

Yoko shifted even closer and rested her free hand on his cheek. She leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips and said, "You're a good man, Zoro Roronoa."

"And you're a great woman, Yoko Littner."

"Ha. Keep saying that, I'll get such a swelled head I won't be able to walk through the door." Yoko took a deep breath and let go of his hand. "Well, I should get my hair all done up and I have to do a couple other things. If you're tired, you're more than welcome to take a nap on my bed for a while."

"Thanks. I think I'll do just that."

She left to go back to her bathroom, and Zoro, feeling a bit of fogginess coming back, got out of the towel and slipped under the bedcovers of Yoko's double bed. He rested his head on the pillow, inhaling the slight fragrance of her shampoo as he fell asleep.

* * *

Simon, freshly showered, put on some track pants and sprawled out on his bed as he waited for Rossiu to clean himself up. He reached under his bed and grabbed the issue of _Monthly Gamer_ he'd been reading off and on earlier.

He thought about the closeness he could see between Zoro and Yoko. It wasn't anything obvious, but he could tell. It was the slight way their hands lingered on each other when they accidentally collided, the way her eyes seemed to sometimes be checking him out or vice versa. He sighed and wondered if he'd ever have anything like that, or if maybe one day he and Rossiu would end up realizing they were boyfriends without ever saying so.

If he were honest with himself, he envied that sudden closeness. Two strangers meet, and they find a connection that holds them together, possibly for the rest of their lives.

He smirked. Maybe they were even banging.

The bathroom door swung open and shortly after, Rossiu, also shirtless and in a pair of casual shorts, walked up to Simon's bed. Simon reached up lazily to pull Rossiu down, but all he got for his trouble was a handful of Rossiu's ass.

Rossiu knocked his hand away and said, "Quit it, you perv," as he sat on the bed near Simon.

"Oh, whatever. I've done a lot more with that ass than just touch it, you know." Simon laughed as he fended off Rossiu's mock punch, then grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down, kicking off an impromptu wrestling session on the bed. Simon managed to get his friend in a headlock. "You gotta give up now, man. No way you're getting out of this!"

A muffled, "Fuck you, asshole," could be heard underneath Simon's arm as Rossiu's legs interlocked with Simon's, effectlvely keeping either from being able to make a move that would end the standoff. Simon squeezed harder, provoking a pained, "Ow! That fucking hurts, you sadist!" from Rossiu, who flailed his hands and landed a punch to Simon's side, right near his kidneys.

Simon jerked, yelling, "Shit! Ow! What the fuck?!" as he hissed in pain. He irritably shoved Rossiu. "Trying to kill me, you fucker?"

Rossiu rolled his eyes, brushed his hair out of his face, then got off Simon, but not before flicking him on the shoulder. "Sheesh, gotta get that one last lick in?" groused Simon.

"Okay, fine – backing off now!" Rossiu threw himself on his bed and said, "Whaddya wanna do tonight?"

"I dunno, man. I've got my readings down, I think, and so far my classes haven't had too much homework assigned that I need to get started _right_ away. What about you?" Simon nodded over at the open books on Rossiu's desk.

"Stats, mostly. I've done about half of it, but some of the concepts look like they won't be covered 'till Friday or Monday, though the textbook explains them fairly well. The prof may be a total bore, but he might have an alternative approach or method I could use." Rossiu tossed a pillow at Simon, who sat up and tossed it back. They tossed the pillow back and forth a few more times, and Rossiu's face broke into a smile at a recollection he'd had.

"S'on your mind?"

"It's kind of—I dunno, it feels weird, but did you see Zoro today?" Rossiu whistled.

Simon gasped. "Holy fucking _shit_ did I ever. That tank top was _molded_ to him! Did you see his arms and those fucking pecs he has? I'd kill for a body like that. And I'm pretty sure he's packing in those pants, man."

Rossiu groaned. "Yoko is so damn lucky."

"Ha! You noticed it too, huh? I'm totally convinced they're already banging. Zoro and Yoko in a tree, F-U-C—"

Rossiu's second pillow throw nailed Simon in the face. He whipped it back in Rossiu's direction, and he said, " _Anyway_ , changing the subject because I don't wanna walk around with a hard-on all evening perving on a couple sort-of friends of ours, weren't you talking about setting up the Playstation 3 with a TV in here or whatever?"

"Yeah. What do you think? I'm not sure we're allowed to mount a TV on the wall, though, which kinda sucks."

"But we could fit a table in the space there, between our desks. There's room for, like, a 32 inch or something." Simon sighed. "But I don't have a TV or the money for one and your parents only have the one they're keeping at home. Maybe Kamina can score one for us, but … " he made a face. "I'm not totally sure how he's getting the money he gave me. I don't wanna get in trouble."

Rossiu waved his hand. "Stop worrying! I worked up a budget and I can totally afford to drop a few hundred bucks on a TV. I wanted to talk to you about it first, but you beat me to it."

"No kidding." Simon sat up and grinned. "You serious?"

Rossiu chuckled. "I told you my scholarship was pretty generous."

"What time is it? Can we go get it right now?" Simon hopped on his bed eagerly.

"Yeah, it's only three-thirty. Get a shirt on, we'll head into Alabasta and bring back a decent TV and see about a table at a consignment store on the way, if we spot one."

"Awesome." Simon leaped off his bed and rummaged in his dresser for a T-shirt. After he put it on, he found his wallet and car keys, then got his shoes on. Rossiu, similarly attired, joined Simon at the door. "After you."

And soon, the two of them were off in Simon's car. They returned an hour later, a large cardboard box in the rear seat and a table that was small yet sturdy enough to support a TV with a stand.

By that night, after the TV was set up and everything hooked up, the two of them might as well have been teens in high school again, seated on the floor, blasting opponents and mocking each other's failures.

* * *

After Yoko had dried her hair and gotten dressed in casual clothes, she'd cleaned up the plates and kitchen, then sat down at her laptop and checked over her e-mail, then decided to check on the museum in Alabasta, as well as seeing if there were any good clubs she could go to with Zoro.

She found, through the student society's website, a forum for students, and after checking out what people had to say, she had some ideas for the upcoming weekends. She also made a mental note to do her monthly check-up on her motorcycle, as well.

Boredom set in, and she ended up painting her fingernails and toenails and waiting for them to dry as she watched a news channel with the volume on low.

Finally, though, she decided she'd killed enough time to let him have a good nap, and Yoko went into her room and knelt next to Zoro, who was sleeping on his side. He somehow looked younger and more vulnerable when he was sleeping. She lightly grasped his shoulder and said, "Zoro? Wake up, please."

He grunted, then rolled over onto his back. She grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "Zoro!"

Zoro stirred, blinking. "Wha?" He blinked some more, then smiled lazily as he saw Yoko. "Hey! I had a great nap. Thanks."

Yoko leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Glad to hear it. But I need you to get up now, okay?"

She stood and moved back, letting him get out of bed and find his clothes. After he did so, he said, "I'm gonna get some supper, then I'm going for a jog tonight. If you want to come?"

"That's not a bad idea." Yoko knew she was pretty fit, but that was more an accident of genetics, regular high school phys. ed, working on her bike, and doing some minor weightlifting. She definitely wanted to resist the tendency to settle in to an easy college life of sitting at a desk composing papers and doing homework, then vegging in front of her TV or heading out to party. "Why don't you call me when you're heading out? Swing by my way." She clapped him on the shoulder and teased, "And we'll try not to get lost."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Make fun of me, why don'tcha."

"Oh, poor Zoro." She mock-cried, then yelped, startled, as he picked her up, then deposited her on her bed and began tickling her stomach. "Hey – hey! I'm ticklish!"

Before long, she was laughing so hard she was gasping for air, and finally Zoro relented, resting on his elbow next to her. Yoko pointed. "Revenge is mine, Zoro! And it will come!" She mock-growled, then stood up and began pulling him to his feet, then swatted him on his butt.

"Hey! What was that for?" Zoro yelped.

"Down payment on my revenge, Zoro." Yoko stuck her tongue out at him, then ushered him out of her room and said, "Now c'mon, get your shoes on. I need to get my supper ready and you need to go home, get your own supper and get anything done you need to do for tomorrow, and then call me before you go out jogging."

Zoro saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" He checked his pockets and nodded. "Got everything. Call you later, okay?"

Yoko reached out for him. "Gimme a hug first!"

She felt Zoro's strong arms encircle her for a few moments, and she held him tightly, rubbing his back briefly. "Mm. Feels nice," she mumured into his chest before they let go of each other.

Zoro was out the door a few seconds later, and Yoko went to get her supper ready. During the mechanical tasks of cutting and dicing, she thought again of how easily Zoro had fitted into her life. It felt good.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Yoko Littner stood inside Zoro's apartment that Friday evening after classes, dressed in her usual casual yoga pants and T-shirt. She said, "Is this what they mean when you read 'character residence' in a real estate ad?"

Zoro, clad in a muscle shirt and Bermuda shorts, chuckled and ran his hand through his hair, a rueful look on his face. "It really isn't much, I know. I mean, you got your basic kitchen slash dining area, bedroom and bathroom. And that's pretty much it."

"Did this come furnished or did you have to bring your own stuff?" Yoko wondered. "I caught a break; my place came mostly furnished, so I just had to ship a few things to myself."

Zoro shook his head. "Well, this place was _technically_ furnished in that it had a bed plus pillows, and you can see the couch in the living room area, but I had to bring or scrounge other stuff. I scored that small table and the set of chairs from a person moving out, and I brought the card table you see my laptop sitting on, plus the TV stand and the TV set as well. Good thing I have a pickup truck."

"Huh, cool. I have a motorcycle," Yoko remarked. She hefted her overnight bag. "So where should I put this?"

"Oh, just anywhere. I'm just going to get dinner started; I taught myself how to cook steaks properly back at home, and I decided to splurge a bit when I did a food run, so… here we go. Mashed potatoes okay with the steak? And I have beer."

Yoko gave him the thumbs up and leaned into his bedroom, tossing her bag onto Zoro's bed. She then stepped back out. "Need any help?"

"Ah-ah." Zoro wagged his finger. "My turn to be the host. Just have a seat there." He grinned, prompting Yoko's grin as well.

The kitchen was quite cramped compared to Yoko's, but Zoro managed quite well, maneuvering between the fridge separated by just six feet of countertop and a sink in the middle, from the stove in the corner.

The table was set against the wall closest to the stove, about six feet away, giving Zoro room to move around while being able to turn around and take one step to deposit any food on it. The table itself, made of wood, looked a bit beat-up but still sturdy. Yoko took a seat on the far side, so she could see Zoro. Her back was to the balcony door, which was another eight feet away from her chair.

Soon, the sizzling of steaks in the frying pan could be heard, and the mashed potatoes steamed vigorously into the stove fan vent. Zoro's upright fan in the corner of the room near the balcony door slowly rotated back and forth, blowing air onto Yoko, giving her some respite from the late summer day.

"You know, I'm kind of lucky; my place stays pretty cool because the sun doesn't really hit that part of the house, and I can always open the patio door."

Zoro turned his head briefly to talk. "Yeah, it's the one thing I wish I could fix about this place, but for what I pay – gotta just live with it. I move that fan into my room when it's too hot to sleep, and I'm damn happy I brought it."

"I'll say." Yoko couldn't help herself. She smiled broadly as she asked the next question. "So hey, do you sleep naked?"

A sudden sharp blast of sizzling told her Zoro'd accidentally dropped the steak into the pan as he was turning it over.

"Whoops! Everything's under control," Zoro assured her. "Um, okay, sleeping? Sometimes, yeah. Usually in my boxers if it's cold. Why?"

He reached up to a cupboard at eye level, swung it open, and pulled down a couple of plates, setting them on the counter beside the stove.

"Just curious."

"Sure," replied Zoro. Yoko was pretty sure he'd rolled his eyes, the way that had come out. "So what about you, huh?"

"Well, not exactly. I usually keep my underwear on, but no bra."

She could hear the frown in his voice as his shoulders worked, stirring the mashed potatoes. "Why not a bra?"

Yoko snorted. "You have to ask? They can get uncomfortable, especially for a girl like me. Why make sleeping more of an annoyance?"

Zoro made an indistinct noise, then continued the cooking. Soon, Zoro was done and he had two steaming plates in his hands as he stepped over to the table and carefully placed one in front of her, then put his plate down at right angles to her. Another quick trip, and Zoro was back with utensils plus beer for both of them.

After Zoro sat, Yoko clinked bottles with him and said, "Cheers, to our first dinner and my first visit in your apartment."

"Cheers!" Zoro smiled, then took a sip and began cutting into his steak.

Yoko speared a piece of steak and began eating it. Her eyes went wide. "Holy—that's good!"

"For real?"

Yoko nodded. "Totally! You put some kind of spice on it, right?"

"Yeah, I put on some Tex-Mex spices to add a little flavor," he replied.

"Worked out pretty well. Not quite heaven on my tongue, but it's pretty good." She swallowed the steak, then took a swig of beer.

Zoro smirked. "So yesterday was heaven on your tongue, then?"

It took all of Yoko's effort not to spray the beer onto Zoro, and she temporized by giving him the finger until she could safely swallow the beer down the right way. She gasped, "Someone sure has a dirty mind!"

"You didn't deny it," Zoro pointed out.

"Asshole." She swatted his shoulder. "Okay, seriously? You tasted good, yeah, but you know what _is_ heaven on my tongue? Chocolate fudge cake."

"Note to self: feed Yoko chocolate fudge cake, then plot world domination with her as minion," Zoro said, his finger on his chin as he frowned comically.

"Oh, shut _up_! I'll do a lot for chocolate fudge cake, but not _that_ much," Yoko bantered back.

The two looked at each other, then smiled warmly and began eating, the room filled only with the sounds of the clacking of utensils and the occasional murmured appreciation of the food.

When Yoko saw she was at the last bite of mashed potatoes, she decided to try something. She scooped it up with her fork and held it out. "Zoro?"

Zoro, seeing it at once, said, "Okay. Watch it, though!"

Yoko carefully extended her hand, letting Zoro eat the mashed potatoes off her fork.

"Your turn," he announced, as he did the same with the last of his mashed potatoes. Yoko made quick work of that, and she chuckled at the silliness of the two of them feeding each other.

"At least now I know if I get sick you can feed me chicken soup and not spill it all over me," she joked.

"Same here. You all done?" Zoro stood, his plate in his hand. Yoko handed him hers, and after a few moments of clean-up, Zoro had all the dishes and pots drying in the rack he'd gotten out of the cupboard beside the fridge.

Yoko leaned back in her chair. "That was good!"

"Thanks," said Zoro. "Good to know I didn't poison you. Or end up with you saying 'not bad' in that 'I gotta hurl but can't tell you' kind of way."

Yoko made a slight bow in acknowledgement. Then she said, "So what now? We could go into Alabasta and hit up a club, if you want? Or just veg back here." Yoko crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the table.

"You said you have a bike?" Zoro asked.

"Yep. Why, wanna take a spin on it?" Yoko grinned.

"I could go for some clubbing in Alabasta, if you can take us there. I always liked dancing at Homecoming and prom."

"Okay! There's a couple of clubs I looked up on a forum run by students of the university; people've said they're pretty decent. Cover charge is only five bucks if we get in before ten, and it's like eight now and it's a half hour into Alabasta. Best part? I thought ahead." Yoko grinned, got out of the chair and went to Zoro's room, grabbing her overnight bag. "So, this is how it works. We'll get dressed for my bike, but we'll bring our changes of clothing, park the bike somewhere, get changed near the club, then knock 'em dead."

"Okay, sounds good! Jeans and a T-shirt okay for the bike?"

"Bring a light summer coat too. I like to drive fast and the wind will blow at your arms pretty fiercely." Yoko winked. "C'mon, we'll change in your room."

Shortly after, Yoko was out of her yoga pants and wearing her casual jeans, and had her summer coat on. Her riding gloves and helmet were locked up in her bike's storage compartment, as was a spare helmet she'd thought to bring just in case, so she'd just get them when they headed over to her place.

Zoro, for his part, was just slipping a T-shirt over his head, having already gotten into his jeans and found his summer coat. He was now inventorying his good clothes, and Yoko, looking over his shoulder, picked out a metallic grey long-sleeved shirt to go with his dress pants and shoes. Zoro's backpack served to hold his clothes, and Yoko pulled out her high heels and her slinky black club dress and added them to the pile.

Shortly after, they were in the back of Yoko's house, and she reached up behind her and yanked the band off of her hair. "The ponytail doesn't fit well inside a helmet," she explained. She got out her riding gloves and her helmet from the compartment under the seat and put them on, then held out the spare to Zoro. "Hope it fits!"

Luckily, he was able to get it on his head, and he pushed the protective face cover down. She slipped onto the bike and said over her shoulder, "Hop on!"

It took Zoro a few tries, but he was able to get on without too much trouble. He tugged at the straps on his shoulders, making sure his backpack was on securely. Yoko put her key into the ignition and started the bike, a throaty roar rising up as she did so.

She grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and stuck it in the cradle she'd improvised, the map plus directions already active. He held her shoulders and braced his feet on the stands for passengers. She chuckled to herself, and grabbed his arms and pulled them around her waist. She flipped up the faceplate and bellowed over her shoulder, " _I drive fast, remember?!_ "

The bike was warmed up now, and she flipped her faceplate back down, then twisted the throttle, getting them on the road to Alabasta.

* * *

Simon lay on his bed. He was bored. And for him, boredom sometimes meant thinking about Rossiu with his shirt off. And then his pants off. And then…

He sighed and looked over at Rossiu, who was busy on his computer and probably wouldn't be up for anything just yet. Maybe he'd be willing to just chat about anything for a bit.

Simon wadded up a piece of paper from his desk and tossed it at Rossiu's head. Rossiu turned, irritated. "What, Simon?!"

"It's ten o'clock and we've already done fuck all for our first weekend away from home and I'm _bored_. Isn't there _anything_ we can do? You didn't even wanna go clubbing with me tonight because you _had_ to make sure you still knew all your freakin' Java or whatever that shit is. And I'm not fucking going alone, sheesh. That's just ridiculous."

Rossiu sighed. "For your information, a lot of people _do_ in fact go alone to clubs. In fact, that's the whole point – to get picked up and then sleep with someone after a night of dancing!"

"Whatever. Isn't there like, a lake near here? Maybe we could go chill at the beach tomorrow, assuming you can tear yourself away from that thing."

Rossiu wheeled his chair closer to Simon, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Come to think of it, Lake Livar is about an hour away from here, up in the mountains north of Alabasta. It's been a while since we did any swimming and if we go any later it could get too cold to be comfortable."

Simon sat up. "You're the best, Rossiu. Listen, d'you mind if I call Nami and invite her and Vivi along? They might like it."

A glint appeared in Rossiu's eye as he smiled mischievously. "Are you sure it's not that _you_ might like their bathing suits?"

"Sit and rotate, fucker." Simon raised his left hand and gave Rossiu the finger while reaching for his cell phone, which he'd tossed on the bed earlier that night.

Rossiu smacked his hand away and wheeled back to his computer. He called, "But yeah, I'm cool if they want to come."

Simon shifted so he was leaning back against the wall, and dialled Nami's number. She picked up and said, "Hey, Simon! What's up?"

"Hey, Nami. Glad I caught you while you're still awake. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Not really. Vivi's just talking to her dad and I was just killing some time on my laptop. So what'd you call for?"

Simon scratched his jaw. "Rossiu and I were gonna go hang out up at the lake near here, Livar. You know it?"

"No, but Vivi's from here and she just got off the phone. Gonna put you on speaker."

"Hey, Vivi? You know Lake Livar?"

Her voice had a bit of tinny quality and sounded far away, but he heard her clearly. "Yes! My father took me there when I was much younger. It's really huge! I'd love to go back. Are you going?"

Nami cut in, saying, "Yeah. Simon was just telling me he and Rossiu wanna go."

"Well, count me in for sure, Simon!" Vivi announced.

Nami said, "Sure, why not, I'll come too. When're you taking off?"

Simon called, "Hey, Rossiu! Is nine o'clock fine?"

Rossiu said distractedly, "Yeah, whatever, you're organizing this."

Simon said into the phone, "Nine AM. I'm driving. Just meet us outside Lagann Tower and we'll walk over to the parkade. Bring your beach clothes and we can pick up some food and drinks on the way. How about it?"

Nami and Vivi had no objections, and Simon rang off.

Simon tossed his phone on the desk behind his bed. His boxers still had a bit of a tent to them. He said, "Hey, Rossiu?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"I'm bored _and_ horny now." He grinned.

Rossiu turned and rolled his eyes. "I swear, you're a walking hard-on sometimes."

"You liiiiiiiike iiiiiiiiiit," Simon singsonged.

Rossiu lifted an eyebrow. "You know, didn't we just 'christen the other bed' last night?"

"So? We can do that again and make sure it's _really_ christened." Simon stuck his tongue out, then pulled his shirt off. When Rossiu seemed a bit uncertain, Simon waved his hand. "Okay, you know what? You don't have to. Forget it, I'll just jack off." He hooked his thumb in the elastic of his boxers, but something in Rossiu's expression stopped him for a moment.

Rossiu bit his lip and looked back at his monitor, then looked back at Simon. He sat up, pulled his shirt off and said, "You know what? My program can wait."

Simon wiggled his eyebrows. "Now we're talkin'!"

They didn't quite get to christening the bed again, but Rossiu showed Simon he had some very good uses for his mouth besides kissing. And so did Simon, for Rossiu.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Vivi sat on her bed, looking at Nami at her desk after she ended the call with Simon. Nami seemed to read something in her expression, because she said, "Are you okay?"

Vivi rubbed her head and debated with herself how much she could really tell Nami. After all, she had already nearly screwed up with her last name when she introduced herself, but luckily Nami hadn't caught on or bothered mentioning it to the new circle of friends that seemed to be forming around them

Finally, she said, "I don't know. My father says not to worry, though. Just some things at home."

"Say, I've been wondering. Why are you living here instead of driving here and back everyday? Isn't Alabasta only a half hour away?"

Vivi ducked her head and tried to look abashed. "I felt I should get the whole 'university experience', and you can't really do that still living in your father's big house – you know?" That, Vivi reflected, was mostly true.

But the other nine-tenths of the iceberg of Vivi's presence at Midland was that she and her father thought they had proof that the President and CEO of Crocodile Corporation, Cameron Zviad, was running a vast corporate espionage empire, possibly even snaking into the government of Alabasta itself.

She remembered the talk with her father before entering Midland University:

"Vivi, Zviad has made his boldest move yet. He has attempted a hostile takeover of Cobra Enterprises and I may have to negotiate with him face to face. But he has never seen you and does not think my company represents a serious threat. I have studied his hostile takeover methods in the past, and I have a course of action planned that will stave off the threat without necessarily tipping him off.

"But whatever you do, Vivi, keep yourself safe. And from now on, you are Vivi Mercredi, distant niece from a sleepy suburb. The last thing Igaram and I can do is secretly drop you off at the university, but—"

Vivi had stood, her face resolute. She said, "Father, I _will_ prove Zviad's and Crocodile's conspiracy. If necessary I will become an intern in his company itself!"

And so the day Vivi had moved into Alubarna Tower, her father had had Igaram drive them in a nondescript van into the open parkade by the residences; they hid in the back the whole way. There, she had said her last goodbyes, clutching the envelope of money and new identification he had given her. She was to be Vivi Mercredi, daughter of an alleged distant cousin of Conrad "Cobra" Nefertari's. Her father had secretly set up a slush fund to pay all her expenses in the name of a nonexistent Toto Mercredi, from a small suburb of Alabasta named Yuba. He had said, "When this is all over—"

Vivi had stood in the van, one hand on the rear door handle, her large duffel bag in the other. She had pressed her lips together, trying to keep up a brave front. She nodded once, then exited the van and slammed the door. The noise seemed to echo through the parkade as she walked away from the only family she had.

But all she had done was blink rapidly and allow herself one good sniffle before she wiped her eyes, squared her shoulders, and walked to Alubarna Tower via the parkade stairwell, never looking back as she heard the van's engine start up, then fade away as Igaram and Cobra drove out of the parkade.

Back in the present, Nami said softly, "Hey. I'm here if you want to talk, all right?"

Vivi smiled wanly. "Thank you, Nami. I'm going to bed early. You mind?"

"Sure. Want me to get the lights?"

Vivi shook her head. "I'll just turn them off after I change for bed. Good-night, then."

"You too!" Nami turned back to her laptop and turned on her desk lamp as Vivi went to her dresser.

* * *

"Woohoo!" cheered Yoko Littner as she felt the wind blow past her as she kept the speedometer nailed well in excess of the speed limit. The wind roared past her as she leaned into the breeze, the lane markers on the road whizzing past as she ate up the miles to the destination, Alabasta's bustling downtown.

They were in the left lane, Zoro's arms clutching her as she blew past traffic as though the cars were standing still. Poor guy hadn't quite dared to ease up all the way, but after the first few minutes of proving she wasn't going to wipe out and smear them all over the road, he had changed from a death grip to just a really strong grip.

It was kind of amusing, considering he'd been enthusiastic about riding a bike earlier. Then again, the _idea_ of it, she knew, was way different than actually _doing_ it. She still remembered the first pangs of trepidation she'd had the first few times she'd ridden a motorbike in a parking lot.

The tall, brilliantly lit downtown of Alabasta soared into the night sky. She looked down at her phone's GPS tracker, and saw that she was making good time; she just needed to get off the highway in another couple of minutes. For the first time in almost half an hour, she signalled a lane change and eased up on the throttle just a bit. Zoro seemed to sense this, for his grip slackened a bit more.

And soon, they were put-putting rather sedately in downtown traffic, Yoko keeping an eye out for a parkade she knew was near the club she wanted to check out. Zoro, for his part, was now resting his hands on her shoulders, and she could tell from the occasional glimpse she got in her mirrors that he was looking around, marvelling at the city.

She spotted a gas station and all-night restaurant near the parkade she intended to go into, and quickly hung a right, grabbing a ticket from the automated machine which then lifted its gate, permitting her to ride in. She chose a parking spot near a stairwell, so that her bike was a bit hidden from the street, although cages over the openings in the concrete edifice would prevent any casual thieves from trying to grab her bike.

The two of them got off the bike as she snagged her cell phone, Zoro groaning in relief as he stretched his legs. "I felt squashed like a sardine back there!"

She grinned at him as she pulled off her helmet and held out her hand for his, after which she locked them up in the compartment under the seats. "You'll get used to it," she promised. She thought for a moment, then yanked off her light coat. "The night's still pretty warm. Might as well stash these too, Zoro." She indicated his coat.

Said coats now packed in with the helmets, her bike safely locked up, she said, "Let's move. We'll hit the gas station, get changed, and then hit the club. It's about a block away. I didn't see too much of a line-up when we passed by. That's why the cover's low before ten."

Zoro frowned and checked his phone. "Huh, it's only a quarter after nine."

"Yeah. We made pretty good time."

The two exited the parkade, and Yoko went first to get changed in the small bathroom the gas station had in the back, taking Zoro's backpack in with her to retrieve her items.

"All right, club dress first," she murmured. Yoko slid out of her casual clothes, pulled her hair up into a tight bun, and then shimmied into her black one-piece sleeveless club dress, which wrapped tightly over her down to just above mid-thigh, accentuating every curve and motion of her body. She looked in the mirror, made a few adjustments, then nodded in satisfaction. _Zoro is_ not _gonna know what hit him when I walk out of this place_ , she thought.

"Shoes next," she announced. She slipped out of her trainers and into her high heels, grunting a bit as she steadied herself on her feet, getting used to the sensation of being pushed slightly forward as she walked.

Finally she took some money out of her wallet, which was from her purse that she'd left in the backpack for safekeeping, and folded the bills up and tucked them into a small pocket sewn into the fabric near her right thigh. Unless anyone looked closely, they wouldn't know she had about thirty dollars on her.

She dumped her non-club clothes into the backpack, then strode out of the bathroom, greeting a dumbfounded Zoro as he stared at her. He swallowed, licked his lips, and croaked, "Wow!"

She snickered and shoved his backpack into his chest. "Get changed, loverboy."

Zoro snapped to, and ducked into the room to get himself ready for the club.

A few minutes passed, and out came Zoro, smartly clad in his dress shirt and pants, complete with shiny black shoes. Yoko, her new height now bringing her head up to Zoro's eye level, allowed herself a moment to drink in Zoro's appearance, which was enough for him to crack a smile and whisper into Yoko's ear, "Hey, my eyes are up here."

Yoko burst out laughing, gripping his shoulder to steady herself. "Says the guy whose eyes were _glued_ to my chest earlier!"

Zoro rolled his eyes as they walked out, arm in arm, from the gas station. Yoko smirked as she saw a young guy staring openly at her as he filled his gas tank, and on the other side of the pump, a professional-looking woman's jaw dropped momentarily before she shook herself, looking around to see if anyone had noticed her ogling Yoko.

As they left the gas station proper and walked to the club, she slid her arm around his waist, prompting him to the same, his hand sliding down to just above the curve of her butt. They walked like this together past the other people ambling on the sidewalk this way and that, ignoring the occasional whistles they got from passersby. They could see a half a block away now the neon purple and blue lines framing the neon white word, "Club Spiral."

Shortly after, they were in line behind a few people, and Yoko said, "Gimme my purse."

Zoro dug it out of his backpack and handed it to her. She opened it, found her wallet and pulled out her driver's licence, then dropped her wallet back into the purse and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll give this back to you when we go to coat and bag check."

Zoro nodded, and the two of them walked up to the bouncer, who checked their IDs, then nodded. At the grille separating the cashier from her and Zoro, he had his hand out. "Five bucks each. No in and out for arrivals before ten. You got that?" His eyes rested on Yoko, then flitted to Zoro as they nodded, and handed him the necessary money.

They passed through the wide solid front doors, which had round windows set into each of them. The bassy pounding rhythm of the music could already be heard in the corridor leading to the club proper. Yoko handed Zoro her purse, and as Zoro placed it in his backpack, they stopped at the bag check. A couple of dollars later, Zoro had a receipt and his hands were free.

As they stood before another set of doors, Yoko grinned. "Ready to have some fun, big guy?"

Zoro grinned back. "Hell yeah. C'mon, I wanna see you shake that ass and killer legs of yours."

Yoko and Zoro walked hand in hand into the club, the full blast of the dance music now hitting them as she felt the reverb through her feet. It was generally dark, but the dance floor itself was lit by lights that changed color in response to the beat. The walls and ceiling were largely black, but the long bar along the back was lit here and there with incandescent bulbs that threw a little bit of color into the mix.

As well, here and there in the bar she could see some tables for people to sit at when not dancing. It was just after nine-forty now, as the clock above the bar showed, and she could see a few patrons already milling around, some of them greeting each other effusively. Others seemed to be unhappily drinking their beverages.

They drifted to the bar. A tall, angular guy tending bar came over to greet them and grinned at seeing Yoko. She leaned against the bar and bellowed, "Gimme a vodka with a twist, neat!" She put the money down on the bench and dropped a single in the tip jar. The bartender, finally tearing his eyes away from Yoko, fixed her drink, then took Zoro's order of gin and tonic.

They walked over with their drinks to one of the tall columns near the dance floor and leaned back against it. Yoko reached up, holding her drink. Zoro clinked his glass with hers, then bellowed, "Bottoms up!" and took a healthy swig from his glass. Not to be outdone, Yoko drank, tilting her head back as far as she dared, gulping down a good quarter of the contents of the glass.

"Whew!" she yelled, the burn down her throat rapidly fading into a comfortable inner warmth. She leaned over, her shoulder bumping against Zoro's. She bellowed into his ear, "I wanna maybe have one more drink later, but I don't wanna go overboard."

"Same here!" Zoro shouted back. "I've got enough for maybe one more drink, but after that—" he drew his hand across his neck, indicating he wanted to stop there.

Yoko drank off the rest of her vodka more slowly, savoring the slight lime flavor as she did so. Soon, her drink was finished, and so was Zoro's. They smiled at each other, put their empty glasses down on a nearby table in unison, and moved as one to the dance floor. The rest of the world dropped away as the two of them lost themselves in the music and the gyrations of their bodies.

* * *

"Three oh-two exactly, Zoro," announced Yoko as she and Zoro walked, their arms around each other. They strode at a fairly quick pace in the early morning breeze, a slight chill going through them as they made their way back from the club. She shoved her phone back into her purse, which hung off her shoulder.

"I haven't done _that_ in a while!" Zoro laughed and said, "Man! That was awesome! I can still feel the music pounding through me, you know what I mean?"

"Hell yeah," Yoko replied. She looked at the all-night restaurant, then dug in her purse again. Between what was left in her wallet plus what she hadn't spent in the club, she had enough. She rubbed Zoro's back, savoring the texture of the shiny material against his body. "Hey, Zoro?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"I'm still feeling a bit buzzed from the second drink I had a while ago and I'm kind of a bit hungry. What say I treat you to an early breakfast to make up for the ride over here?"

Zoro put on an air of elaborate unconcern. "I don't remember any problems at all. Nuh-uh!"

Yoko snickered, trying not to laugh out loud in the still night air. "Zoro! You had a death grip on me most of the way!" In a quieter voice, she leaned against him and said, "I bet you're hungry, too."

Zoro's expression turned thoughtful. "I guess I could do with something."

"Great! C'mon, we'll eat, get changed, and head back home. Okay?"

"Deal."

The restaurant wasn't too busy; Yoko could spot a few club patrons she vaguely remembered bumping into her on the dance floor, and they apparently had the same idea for a late-night meal.

The sign directed that they seat themselves, so they grabbed a booth and Zoro, heaving a sigh of relief, let his backpack slump on the floor near his foot. Yoko thought for a moment, then decided. "Zoro? I'm gonna change now. I wanna get out of this dress into something more comfortable. If the server comes by order me a coffee with cream and sugar on the side, and for food—"

She grabbed the list of late-night specials sitting in the salt and pepper rack, showed it to Zoro, and pointed. "The number one. Scrambled eggs, sourdough toast."

Zoro nodded. "Gotcha."

She grabbed up his backpack and quickly made her way to the women's bathroom. She grabbed a stall and changed, sighing in relief as she got out of her high heels, then her club dress. Not long after, she was back in her casual clothes and making her way back to the booth.

Zoro leaned in as she sat down. "I have to say, I kind of miss getting to see your legs."

"Perv."

"Hey, if the thigh flexes and you can see it—"

Yoko stifled a laugh as she tried not to lose it at Zoro's irrepressible grin at his corny joke. She busied herself pouring in the cream and sugar to her steaming cup of coffee, then when she could trust herself to talk again, she said, "I can _not_ believe you tried that old 'if the shoe fits' thing! Or was that like 'if a tree falls in the woods' thing?"

Zoro chuckled. "The second one. Sorry, I couldn't resist."

A smile still tugged at her lips as she replied, "Hmpf. Anyway, I guess food'll be here soon?"

"Yep. The lady came by with the coffee just now."

"Good. The night's starting to catch up to me a bit now that I'm sitting down." Yoko took a sip of her coffee, then cautiously took a bigger sip, trying not to let it burn her mouth.

Zoro decided to get changed as well, and he returned just as breakfast came. They both dug in. Yoko took a bite of her warm buttered toast and let her eyes flutter shut. "Oh, _man_. This is heaven on bread!" She chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

"S'pretty good," agreed Zoro as he worked his way through the bacon on his plate.

They made quick work of their meal, after which Yoko settled the bill, and they walked to the parkade. At the motorcycle, Zoro reached out and held Yoko's hips. "Thanks for an awesome time tonight."

Yoko rested her hands on Zoro's shoulders and leaned in for a lingering, slow kiss. As she reluctantly broke the kiss, she said, "I had an awesome night too, Zoro. We should do this again sometime."

He sighed. "I wish we could do this every weekend. But—"

Yoko squeezed his shoulders and rubbed his upper arms. "I know. Money."

"Yep. Well—" Zoro gestured at the bike.

"Let's go home. And I promise to drive the speed limit this time." Yoko winked and let her hair out of its bun, then put her helmet on.

The ride back to Midland University was uneventful on a highway sparsely travelled at that time of day, and Zoro was relaxed enough to hold her hips and not clutch her. Even so, as she shifted a bit in her seat, she knew her bike wasn't that big and there wasn't a lot of space between her and Zoro, so he was kind of pressed up against her as they leaned slightly forward against the breeze.

She knew the night's dancing with her had gotten his blood up. Their hands had definitely roamed during their dancing, particularly during the occasional slow dance. If truth be told, if she could have ripped his clothes off then and there, she would have. From the look in his eyes at the club, he would have loved to get her alone somewhere for even just ten minutes. And sure enough, she could feel something poking her in the back, and she decided to do something about it when she got him back to his place.

* * *

Back at Zoro's place, they stumbled in the door, kicked their shoes off, then made their way to Zoro's bedroom.

In the room, she looked into his eyes, and he returned her gaze. She licked her lips slowly and deliberately, then held her breath, waiting.

Zoro's answer was to pull her to him, his kiss telling her of his hunger for her that night. She wrapped her arms around him, answering him forcefully with her own torrid kiss.

They drew apart suddenly, and Yoko's hands were already at the button and zipper on Zoro's pants. He reached out and yanked at her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. She reciprocated, yanking his now-free pants down to his feet. Clothes flew everywhere, and before long, Yoko, her breathing loud and harsh in her own ears, lay back on Zoro's bed. She spread her legs wide, inviting him as he set a speed record for the fastest time putting on a condom. He looked down at her, and she looked up at him.

"Come _here_ , Zoro," she growled.

It wasn't a gentle lovemaking session with flowers and candles.

It was the rapid groaning of Zoro's bed – hard, fast thrusts – breathless, barely stifled grunts – the loud smack of his pelvis against hers.

It was a primal, hard _fucking_ in the fullest sense, leaving both Zoro and Yoko a bit stunned at its intensity.

Yoko, gasping as though she'd run from one end of the campus to the other, lay back in bed, her head lolling on the pillow as she stared at the ceiling, her eyes unfocussed. She held Zoro in her arms, his broad muscular chest heaving against her as he lay collapsed on top of her.

She closed her eyes and let the weary relief flood through her as she nuzzled Zoro's neck, inhaling his slightly musky scent as he slowly came back to himself. Even so, sleep nearly overtook her as she distantly felt Zoro slowly withdraw from her and whimpered slightly at the sudden empty feeling inside her. She rolled over onto her side, and the last thing she remembered was the bed shifting, then Zoro's arms wrapping around her as his warm chest rested against her back.

* * *

Nami gasped in delight as she lifted her sunglasses onto her head and feasted her eyes on Simon's car while Rossiu loaded the trunk with towels, a bag containing his and Simon's swim gear plus suntan lotion, and a large blanket if they could find a nice flat spot. Vivi took her and Nami's travel bag from Nami and put it in the trunk as well.

"Oh my sainted spirits and angels _in heaven_ , I would sell my _soul_ for this car!" Nami exclaimed. She turned to Simon and pointed. "You. Are. One. Lucky. Asshole."

Simon chuckled. "A lucky asshole who knows how to swing a wrench and has a buddy with a key to a body shop. I put a lot of sweat into this car, you know. So, sorry, Nami, the car stays with me."

Nami theatrically snapped her fingers. "Damnit."

Rossiu slammed the trunk shut, then moved with Vivi to the passenger side. Simon opened the driver's side door, then got in and leaned across the bench seat to open the passenger door. He pushed the driver's seat forward, then gestured. "And please enter my humble vehicle."

Nami let out a sharp "Ha!" as she got in. "Humble, my ass, Simon."

Rossiu, having let Vivi in on the passenger side, got into the car and put his sunglasses on his head. Simon did likewise, and after putting on his seat belt, started the engine. Once out of the parkade, he pulled his sunglasses down to shield his eyes from the still-bright late summer sunlight.

Nami leaned against the front seat, tapping Simon on the shoulder. "Hey, can you play any music in this thing?"

Simon just reached down and opened the cigarette ashtray cover to reveal a very modern CD and audio player, and Nami whooped. "Great! At least you're not a stickler for _all_ of the 1960s experience."

He grinned. "It was _just_ wide enough to be able to fit a CD, so I yanked out the ashtray and cigarette lighter, and replaced it with this and wired it into the radio's sound system. If you've got a CD or whatever I can pop it in for ya."

Nami shook her head. "Nah. But can you guys put something on? Please?"

Simon looked over at Rossiu. "Hey, look in the glove box there, wouldya? I gotta concentrate on driving."

Rossiu rummaged through the open glove box, and pulled out some CDs. He selected one, then carefully slid it into the CD player. Meanwhile, Simon had made his way off the university campus and spotted a grocery store on the way to the highway. He pulled in, parked the car, and said, "You all want to come in or just gimme a shopping list?"

Vivi said, "Maybe we should all go in. We're going to want food we all like."

Shortly after, they had a cheap Styrofoam picnic container with a bag of ice inside it, filled with drinks and snacks for the day, which they put in the back seat between Nami and Vivi. Simon drove to the highway interchange that either took them into Alabasta if he went under the highway and then left, or up to the lake and beyond if he went right. He turned right onto the onramp, and as he accelerated, the powerful engine quickly got the car up to speed. Rossiu turned up the volume on the CD player as Simon signalled left to merge in, and catchy techno tunes reverberated through the car. Soon, Simon was in the far left lane, pushing the car just over the speed limit.

He looked in the rear-view mirror and laughed at seeing Vivi and Nami grooving to the music, then looked over to see Rossiu tapping his knee and occasionally bobbing his head as it played. It was going to be a fun day, he thought, as the highway narrowed from three lanes each way to two, and the car began going up a slight incline.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the car rumbled along as Simon steered down the winding road to a gravel parking lot surrounded on all sides by trees. The lot was maybe a quarter full, if that, and Simon eased the car into a spot some distance away from the cluster of cars near the walkway that led to the lake, which they could catch glimpses of through the trees in front of them.

The four of them got out of the car, then got the cooler out as well. Simon locked up, then went to the trunk and they began unloading everything. Nami looked at Vivi and winked. She nodded over to the public washrooms and said, "You boys'll have to change in there. We came prepared. We're wearing sandals, for one – and look—"

Nami whipped her T-shirt off, then pulled off her shorts, leaving her clad in a bikini combo that took Simon's and Rossiu's breaths away. Vivi, having done the same, provoked a second round of sharp gasps and nervous swallowing before Rossiu cleared his throat noisily as he yanked the elastic off his ponytail. "Right! Um, we'll get changed. Can you stay with the cooler?"

Nami grinned and patted them both on their shoulders. "Go. We'll guard this with our lives."

Simon and Rossiu took off for the men's room, while Nami and Vivi took a more sedate pace lugging the cooler. They took up a spot about twenty feet away from the low building, near a drinking fountain on the other side of a gravel walkway that curved past the washrooms and down a gentle incline to the lake.

At the fountain, the two young women put on their sun hats. Nami chuckled. "Did you get a load of the boys when they saw us? I've never seen a couple of more flustered guys in my life!"

Vivi smiled. "I think they'll adjust. I actually wouldn't mind seeing what they look like with their shirts off, you know."

"Mm-hmm. I wonder which one of them has the bigger chest," Nami said.

"Well, they look pretty similar to me," Vivi observed.

"Mm. I like your bikini, by the way." Nami pointed at Vivi's bikini, which was a medium purple combination.

"Likewise," Vivi said in return, indicating Nami's somewhat more daring green combination; the top was smaller, showing more of her cleavage.

Inside the bathroom, Rossiu and Simon quickly changed in adjacent stalls, then stepped out, having packed their usual clothes away. They were wearing casual shoes they could afford to let get scuffed up, wet, and otherwise generally messy at the lake. Simon had on a dark blue Speedo, which he thought showed off his legs to advantage. Rossiu had gone with white swim trunks that went down to mid-thigh, and Simon snickered. "You do know once that gets wet, the girls are gonna get an eyeful?"

"And what's _that_ you're wearing?" Rossiu laughed. "You might not be packing quite like Zoro, but you sure compare with mine. 'Hey everyone, Simon's got a bulge in his Speedos from staring at their legs!'"

Simon rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go already, huh?"

Rossiu pushed Simon forward. "Okay, then!"

Even with the distraction that Nami and Vivi offered, plus seeing Rossiu shirtless in public, Simon was still looking forward to getting in the water and having some fun for a while.

The foursome walked down to the lake, and a light breeze wafted over them as they took in the still body of water, surrounded by a strip of mostly-sandy beach. Every hundred feet or so, there was a picnic bench strategically placed under a tree that offered plenty of shade. They could also see the occasional pier jutting out into the water. Simon pointed off to the right. "Over there. I don't see a lot of people, so we can hang out there and not be bothered."

There was enough space to set the blanket down, but leave plenty of space for people to walk past as well. A picnic bench was about thirty feet away, which would offer nicer seating should they choose to move there.

Simon sighed as he eased down onto the blanket and stretched his legs. He hadn't missed the looks he and Rossiu had gotten from the girls, and even though a casual, carefree aura hung over them as they eagerly grabbed their food and drinks from the cooler, he could sense a thread of sexual tension underlying it all.

The sun slowly rose in the sky, illuminating their part of the lake more and more. Simon, having finished his drink, looked up and said, "I better get some suntan lotion on."

Murmurs of agreement went around the group. Simon quickly did his legs, then his torso and arms. He looked up and nearly dropped the bottle at seeing Nami and Vivi making sure to get suntan lotion _everywhere_ on their fronts; he could see their legs were already covered in lotion as well. He coughed, and held the bottle up. "Um, need help with my back?"

Nami grinned and jerked her head at Simon to Vivi. She barked, "Stand up." The two then promptly ran their hands over his back and shoulders, using up the excess lotion on their hands. Shortly after, Rossiu, his cheeks slightly flushed, said, "Um, I need to do my back too."

"No problem!" said Vivi, as she and Nami made quick work of Rossiu's back too after he stood up. She smirked. "Now us, boys."

That command went straight to Simon's dick and he tried to think of _anything_ besides the fact that he was currently running his hand all over Nami's back, his fingers taking in every contour of her body as he did so. Rossiu didn't seem much better as he made sure to work the lotion in all over Vivi's back.

As soon as he could, Simon hurriedly sat back down, trying to hide the semi in his Speedos, and wiped the lotion off his hands with a spare towel. He found the container of watermelon slices, opened it, and began eating one as he said with forced casualness, "So what now? Sunbathing?"

"Absolutely!" Nami declared. She adjusted her sun hat, then her sunglasses and said to the sky, "Sun! Do your worst!"

Vivi giggled, and her laughter was infectious, prompting chuckles from Rossiu and Simon. Simon said, "So hey, did you see the sign posted on the message board in your rez? There's a tabletop RPG group that's looking for new members."

"Huh. I think I glanced at it? But it didn't exactly grab me," admitted Vivi.

Nami nodded in agreement.

Rossiu said, "Well, we were gonna check it out, but thought you might be interested. The beginner group meeting is next week."

Conversation drifted into small talk as the four young people let the sun shine over them, reclining on the blanket to let the sun shine all over them.

Nami's alarm beeped. "Half an hour, guys. Time to turn over!"

They shifted around on the blanket, and Simon, feeling the warmth of the sun play over his back and legs, rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes, drifting off into a light sleep.

Rossiu grabbing his shoulder woke him, and he pushed himself up, looking around. Nami was getting to her feet as well, and she said, "I'm thinking of going swimming! We can all go, if we stay in that part of the lake so nobody steals our shit."

Simon grinned. "Let's go, then!" He flicked Rossiu's shoulder. "Race ya!"

The two guys yanked their shoes off, then took off pell-mell, thundering into the water at the same instant. The water was just warm enough to feel welcome. Simon sighed in contentment as he knelt and pushed off with his feet, gliding through the water. He was shortly joined by the other three, who were all treading water as their toes barely touched the sand at the lake bottom.

"Mmmm," Vivi sighed. "I'd forgotten how nice this feels." She had freed her ponytail, and her hair now hung loosely down past her shoulders.

A swat on Simon's butt got his attention. Rossiu nodded his head. "Swim race over to the pier and back?"

A predatory grin crossed Simon's face. "You're on!"

And soon, the two of them were splashing through the water, swimming parallel to the beach as they raced to the pier five hundred feet away, smacked the wood with their palms at nearly the same instant, then swam back.

Simon's lungs burned with the effort as he tried to eke out even the smallest lead over Rossiu. The distance back to Vivi and Nami narrowed – two hundred feet, a hundred and fifty, one hundred…

Finally with one heroic burst of energy, Simon pushed just enough ahead that when he passed the two girls, he was in the lead by half a head. He let the water halt him, and moved up so he could plant his feet on the sand and let his breathing slow down without wasting energy on treading water.

Rossiu splashed him. "Dick. How'd you pull _that_ off?!" To Vivi and Nami, he said, "You see that? We were freakin' neck and neck all the way and then at the last minute, he pulls out this surprise win."

The two of them were applauding. "Hey, you both did really well. I'm kind of surprised how good you are at swimming, actually," Nami said.

Simon just grinned, letting a small laugh escape him as his breathing settled down. "What can I say? Competition with this guy here brings out the worst in me." He lunged, splashing Rossiu.

"Oh, that's it!" yelled his friend.

And pretty soon, Simon and Rossiu had migrated nearer the beach, their upper bodies free to let them launch some mighty splashes at each other in their impromptu water fight.

Nami nudged Vivi. "So who's got the better chest, d'you think? Me, Simon by just a bit."

"Mmm." Vivi made an uncertain gesture. "I kinda like Rossiu's a bit more, but they're both really nicely built."

Before Nami could respond, a stray splash got her in the face and she bellowed, "Hey! Jerks!"

Simon and Rossiu stopped, staring blankly, responding too late as Nami swam up, launching her surprise splash attack at both of them!

Vivi quickly joined in, helping launch water attacks as the foursome launched into a free-for-all battle royale of water fighting. Laughs, cheers and jeers floated into the air until finally, a truce was called.

They staggered out of the water, and as they did so, Vivi, side by side with Rossiu, happened to glance down at his swim trunks. Her eyes went wide as she noticed the outline in his trunks, clearly visible through the fabric. She hurriedly tore her gaze away, and gulped as she saw Simon's rather visible bulge in his wet Speedos.

And then Nami! Vivi's lips went dry as she realized she could see Nami's nipples poking out through the thin material that barely hid her ample cleavage.

And the way the water dripped off all three of them!

Vivi looked down at herself, and it was with small consolation that she realized _her_ nipples, now hard, were visible through the fabric of her bikini top as well. At least, she sighed to herself, the cool water would keep the heat away for a while.

A second later, a sharp breeze blew past her, and she shivered, rushing back to the blanket to grab her towel and wrap it around herself as she sat down. The others had the same idea, and after the scramble for whose sunglasses were whose, they looked at each other and said as one, "It's supposed to be _warm!_ "

They broke up laughing, and slowly waited to dry off as they finished off the contents of the cooler.

Simon reluctantly stood up, brushing his feet off as he did so. He stuck his feet back in his shoes, and gestured. "I gotta run to the boys' room."

Nami stood as well. "Girls' room for me." The two took off shortly after, leaving Rossiu and Vivi looking at each other on opposite sides of the blanket. She got out of her towel and shifted over next to him, so he was on her left.

"Hey," she said. "How're you doing?"

"Not too bad," he replied. Was it Vivi's imagination, or had the air between them started feeling different, as though it were charged up?

Vivi shifted a bit, and as she did so, her leg accidentally touched Rossiu's. The sudden skin contact made her breath hitch sharply, and she looked at him, blushing. "Sorry."

Rossiu leaned in a bit. "Don't be."

Vivi was never quite sure how what happened, happened, but the next thing she knew, her lips were touching Rossiu's soft lips, and they lay on the blanket, Rossiu half on top of her, his elbow propping him up as her hand ran through his hair, silky and long, freed of his ponytail from swimming. His free hand uncertainly rested on her shoulder, and she decided to help him make a move. She slid his hand down, encircling her breast with his hand. Rossiu reared back, his eyes wide in shock.

Vivi smiled. "You're allowed, you know."

Rossiu tentatively groped her, feeling her breast through the thin material of her suit. He swallowed, then said, "I better not keep—"

Realization shot through Vivi as she felt his stiffness rubbing against her left upper thigh. She tugged at his hand and guided it down, placing it on her right thigh and said, "There. Now kiss me again."

The two lightly made out for a few minutes, Rossiu's hand staying on her leg while she took the chance to run her hand down his chest, feeling the firm muscle underneath his smooth skin. Luckily for them, that part of the beach was pretty deserted that day.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, Simon and Nami had seen it all upon returning from the bathrooms, and they quietly sneaked away to talk.

Nami croaked, "Wow!" as they stood in a small clearing, half-hidden from anyone else's view. "Who'd have thought that would be… um, kind of hot?"

Simon ducked his head for a moment, blushing, then looked up at her. "It's kind of hot… and weird. Rossiu's always been just a bit more reserved about girls than me, and yet—"

Nami grinned. "Well, hey, don't sell yourself short. You're cute, too. And there's one girl who's interested in you, you know."

Slow realization dawned on Simon as he looked Nami up and down. "So, you wouldn't mind if—?"

Nami grabbed his shoulders and planted a kiss on Simon's mouth. After his initial shock, he responded, his lips locking with hers as his hands wrapped around her waist. Just as Nami had seen Vivi deliberately move Rossiu's hand, she reached behind him and tugged his hand down to her ass.

Simon made a "hmm?" noise through their kiss. Nami pulled back for a second and said, "My ass. You. Grope. Now shut up and kiss me again."

And soon Nami's and Simon's hands were roaming, and as with Rossiu and Vivi, Simon got a very nice handful of Nami's best assets along the way. And she had a pretty good idea of what was in Simon's Speedos, too.

* * *

And so it was four rather red-faced teenagers who hesitantly eyed each other as Simon and Nami burst back out of the forest and came up to Simon and Vivi, who had shifted apart at hearing the soft thumping of feet over rocky sand.

Simon and Nami sat, a bit breathless, and Rossiu's wide grin prompted an irritated, "Fuck off," from Simon.

His grin only grew wider, and Simon decided to change the subject and said, "Okay, so… look, can we all talk?"

He looked up at Rossiu, silently asking the question. He nodded, and gestured at the girls.

"Okay. Um, it's like this. I kind of let it slip to Nami that other night, but now that it looks like we're kind of… getting closer, I guess, I gotta lay it out." Simon took a deep breath and said, "Rossiu and I, we're friends, but we're also fuck buddies."

Vivi smiled. "That's okay. Rossiu kind of let it slip to me, too. I wanted to let you guys say it first out in the open, though."

Nami nodded. "Same here." She waved her hand. "It's cool. We're not getting married today, for pete's sake!"

Simon let out the breath he'd been holding. " _Thank_ you."

Rossiu frowned and looked over at Vivi. "So you're cool with the two of us…?" He gestured between him and Simon.

Vivi leaned over and kissed Rossiu's cheek. "Like Nami said, we're not getting married or anything. Just, you know, keep your priorities in order if you go on a date with me."

Nami thumped Simon's shoulder. "So no banging the geek if you're supposed to be hanging out with me."

Simon chuckled. "Fair enough. And Rossiu may be slightly geeky, but he's got social graces."

"Oh, well, damn me with faint praise, why don't you," Rossiu answered with a mock injured look on his face.

Nami's phone bleeped. She dug it out of her bag, looked at it, then said, "I got a text from Zoro. He wants to know if we'll join him and Yoko tonight at that pub around five. What d'you guys think?"

Nods all around, and Nami answered back, then announced, "It's already after twelve. We should pack up and get out of the sun. That'll give us enough time to get changed, too."

The four began cleaning up and headed back to the car. The parking lot had filled up a bit, but not to overflowing. As soon as Simon began fishing for his keys in his and Rossiu's travel bag, he groaned and remembered he was still in his Speedos. "Shit, I don't wanna run back into the can and change clothes."

Rossiu said, "So let's just put towels on the seats and drive back like this. We might get a few stares, but fuck it, we're only gonna be outside long enough to get back to the rez towers. We can shower and change back there."

Nami and Vivi looked at each other, then decided to just put their T-shirts back on. "No sense in causing too many car accidents, huh?" noted Vivi.

"The power of boobs compels you," intoned Nami.

Rossiu and Simon broke up laughing, and had to steady themselves against the car to regain their footing.

With that sorted out, they decided to change their seating arrangements. Nami took the front seat next to Simon, and Vivi was in the back with Rossiu, nestled up against him as she did so. After Simon started the car, she scooted up next to him and said, "You can still reach the shifter between my legs, right?"

"You." He pointed at her nose, tapping it. "Are a very wicked woman."

She put her hand on his leg and said, "Let's see how wicked I can get."

Simon sighed, shifted the car into gear, backed out of their spot, then shifted again and got the car onto the road. As he did so, he put his hand on Nami's leg and grinned. Nami just shoved her shoulder against his, but she didn't distract him more than that for the rest of the way.

That said, as they cruised along, Simon peeked in the rearview mirror and smirked upon seeing Rossiu and Vivi kissing rather thoroughly.

Nami's grin at seeing what he'd been looking at portended another make-out session when they had the chance.

It had, Simon thought, been a pretty fun day.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Yoko blearily awoke to the sun shining through the slats in the Venetian blind covering Zoro's bedroom window. Zoro's arms were still wrapped around her, and she could feel his chest moving against her back as he breathed steadily, still sleeping off the night they'd had. She took a moment to snuggle in closer to his warm body, feeling the strength of his arms as they held her.

Unfortunately, she knew she had to get ready for the day sometime, and so she reluctantly, carefully slipped out of Zoro's embrace, wincing as the ache in her pelvis made itself known. She knelt on the bed, leaned over and dropped a kiss to his forehead, then made her way to the bathroom, her overnight bag in her hand so she could dig out her clothes and hair dryer. She figured he wouldn't mind if she got herself ready before he did. After the preliminaries, she was under the warm spray of water, which worked wonders for helping get the kinks out of her back and neck.

Some minutes later a freshly washed, soaped, shampooed and cleaned Yoko Littner stepped out of the shower, and after a session with the hair dryer and putting on some clean clothes, she felt pretty chipper. It was now eleven-fifteen in the morning. She rummaged around in the kitchen and found a cheap teakettle, some tea bags, two mugs, and there was milk and sugar available. While she set the water on to boil, she went into Zoro's bedroom, leaned over and gently shook his shoulder. "Zoro?"

He mumbled something and his eyes fluttered, but he didn't wake up. Yoko sighed. She grabbed his shoulder, shook him hard and bellowed, " _Zoro!_ "

Zoro's eyes _did_ open this time, and he rolled onto his back. "Hey, Yoko. What's up?"

Zoro yawned, and as he did so, Yoko stood up and replied, "Boiling water. You don't have a coffee maker, so I'm making tea."

"Great! I could use some. Gonna get ready while you do that." Zoro threw the blanket off of himself, and Yoko took the chance to ogle his well-built body as he strode out of the bedroom. She heard the grin in his voice as he called back, "And I know you're checking out my ass!"

"Oh damn. Busted," Yoko retorted, sarcasm in her tone as she ambled back over to the kitchen. An amused snicker from Zoro trailed out of the bathroom before the door clicked shut.

The water kettle was soon boiling, and Yoko prepared the tea, putting milk and sugar into her mug and then stirring. She took both mugs over to the table, sat in the same spot as she'd taken previously and sipped from her own steaming mug, feeling the warmth suffuse through her. Zoro's mug was in front of his seat, the tea steeping while he showered.

A few minutes later, a freshened-up and dressed Zoro sat near Yoko, sipping at his tea. "Missed my chance to shower with you," he joked.

"Too bad, so sad. But honestly, I don't think we saved _that_ much water last time we tried that," Yoko bantered back.

"Mmhmm, " he said. "Hey, do the insides of your hips ache a bit, too?"

"Gee, yeah, I wonder how _that_ happened." A smile tugged at the corners of Yoko's mouth as she drank her tea.

"It was pretty … intense, I guess." Zoro chuckled. "Anyway, what do you want to do today? Frankly, I'd be happy to just veg and watch whatever's on TV and maybe head to the pub later."

Yoko tapped her chin, thinking. "Would you mind inviting the others along? Simon, Vivi, the rest? I know it was one of the guys who wanted to check it out and tonight's a perfect night for that."

Zoro snapped his fingers. "Good idea." He went to his room to get his phone and said, "Hey, who should I send the message to about it?"

"Simon or Nami. They seem like the organizer type, somehow."

"I'll try Nami first. If there's no answer, then Simon," Zoro decided, and began tapping away at the screen of his phone, then sent his message.

A few moments later, Zoro's phone made a rather polite-sounding _beep_ and he looked at the incoming message. "They're on for five o'clock tonight at the Devil's Fruit."

"Great! So, veg time? Curl up on the couch and watch random stuff on TV?" Yoko drank off the last of her tea and set the mug down. "Ah, that was good tea."

"Sure thing."

They moved over to the couch, and as Yoko snuggled up to Zoro, her head resting on his shoulder as he thumbed the remote control. Eventually, after going through a bunch of channels, Zoro settled on a documentary about deep-sea research and specialized research stations for scientists who studied the creatures of the ocean.

* * *

Simon, Rossiu, Nami and Vivi were the targets of some stares and good-natured whistles as they walked back to the rez towers, bags and foam cooler in hand. The foursome had decided to leave the cooler with the guys, as they had more room in their closet now that they'd recycled their packing boxes. At the towers, they all split up and promised to meet back together at four-thirty so they'd have plenty of time to go to the pub on East Blue Boulevard.

In Simon and Rossiu's room, after kicking their shoes off, the two guys looked each other, then grinned and gave each other a resounding high-five.

"How did we get so freakin' lucky, Rossiu? They're hot _and_ smart! I mean, Nami's in your stats class and Vivi's no slouch either 'cause she's studying a freakin' foreign language on top of what's gotta be some pretty crazy paper writing."

"No shortage of singing the girls' praises, I see." Rossiu's grin wasn't quite as wildly enthused-seeming, but Simon knew that didn't mean he wasn't giving himself all tens across the board for what had happened at the lake, and then in the car.

Simon snickered, taking his chance to embarrass Rossiu a bit. "Dude, if Nami and I hadn't been in the car, I _totally_ bet Vivi would've gone down on you!"

Sure enough, Rossiu's cheeks went red as he shook his head in amused disbelief. "Do you _always_ have sex on the brain, Simon?"

"Only ninety-nine percent of the time, Mister Stats," Simon said as he got out of his Speedos, and tried the bathroom door. It was locked.

"Technically, that would be ninety-nine percent of sixty-seven percent," Rossiu pontificated as he peeled out of his swim trunks.

"What?" Simon frowned.

"Simple. You sleep eight hours of the day and to first approximation you're not in conscious control of your thoughts so we can ignore those. So that's two-thirds of the day left over, during which you _can_ control your thoughts and so you spend ninety-nine percent of _that_." Rossiu smirked and crossed his arms.

Simon looked down and back up. "I can _not_ take you seriously when you're standing there and your dick's hanging out while you're lecturing me."

"Fine, whatever," Rossiu expostulated. "Can we shower yet?"

Simon tried the bathroom door again and found it unlocked this time. He grabbed Rossiu 's arm. "Let's just shower together to save some time, all right?"

"Not arguing!" Rossiu followed Simon, letting himself get pulled into the shower.

It didn't hurt that Rossiu was still pretty turned on from his time with Vivi, and Simon was the same from when he was with Nami. Their hands took care of that for each other, and when they got out two rather relaxed young men went to kill time with the gaming console.

* * *

Inside her shared room with Nami, Vivi leaned back against the door and sighed. Now that she was in her room with Nami, she was beginning to wonder if she could really start a relationship when she couldn't even tell anyone her real name.

_But I'm still the same person_ , Vivi reasoned. _Therefore, what Rossiu or Nami or anyone likes about me is_ me _, and not an imagined version thereof._

Nami, for her part, was actually whistling cheerfully as she got her things squared away, and Vivi could have sworn if it had lyrics, it would've gone, "Simon and Nami in a tree—"

Vivi blurted, "Nami? Do you mind if I go first in the shower?"

"Nah. Go ahead, I'm good for now."

Vivi's phone let out a short trill. She gasped, then tried to compose herself before Nami caught it. She said, "Actually, I should take that call, just in case. Would you mind going first instead?"

"Not a problem. See you in fifteen!" Nami went into the bathroom, armed with a fresh towel and clothes.

Meanwhile, Vivi picked up the call and said in a quiet voice, " _Father?"_

"I won't be able to talk too long, Vivi; I have time to give you a quick update. You're being careful?"

"Yes, of course. Last night my roommate was busy on her computer. She's not in the room this time." Vivi sighed gustily. "I just wish I was doing _more_ to help you. And are you _sure_ that 'Mister Zero' doesn't know what's going on?"

Her father's baritone sounded, as always, reassuring and reasonable. "As sure as I can be for the moment. I've done all the usual things a CEO can be expected to do, and in fact I have a legitimate bridge loan to undertake a share buy-back, albeit at a premium, to regain full majority ownership. This is no different from the strategies successfully employed from time to time against other takeover attempts."

"But doesn't he _always_ end up winning in the end, anyway? Even if a company stays intact it's taken on too much debt, or the government somehow ends up issuing a regulation that just happens to adversely affect a profit center, or—"

"In the worst case scenario, Vivi, I believe we still have two years at the outside to determine a counterstrategy. Incidentally, we have recently taken on some temporary interns from Midland University. I'm having them looked into, and I believe one of them has stated she's from a sorority: Tau Iota Epsilon."

Somehow or other, Vivi knew, just _knew_ with a mounting sense of dread, that Tanya Valentine was mixed up in it somehow. "Father, that sorority – it could be nothing. But … the president is this girl, Tanya Valentine. I have a _really_ bad feeling about her. If anyone's mixed up with 'Mister Zero', it'll be her, I'm sure of it!"

"I trust your judgement, Vivi," her father rumbled. "Remember. We still have two years. You have time to gain the confidence of people at the school and see if the intern program is being used as a corporate espionage vector. I had not, admittedly, considered the possibility that the fraternity system was involved too."

Some noises from her father's side rustled in her ear through the phone. "I have to go. Farewell." The phone _bipped_ in her ear, and Vivi slowly lowered her phone to her lap. She breathed slowly, in her nose, out her mouth, steadying and centering herself. By the time Nami exited the bathroom, Vivi was calmly smiling and saying, "I'll be out in fifteen minutes as well."

Inside the bathroom, she said in a low voice, "I _must_ succeed! I _have_ to!"

* * *

In the pub, the group of six, squashed in around a rectangular table for four, split a pitcher of beer and some chips while they waited for their chicken wings. They were all dressed in casual clothes, and the pub was already filling with patrons for their evening meal and hangout for the night; some easy-listening music played, but it was nearly inaudible over the dull roar of the people in the pub chattering away with each other.

Simon, sitting across from Yoko, was leaning over the table and showing off a picture collection to Zoro, seated at Yoko's left. She overheard Simon saying, "They're mostly copies of Nami's group selfie collection. We were tanning earlier."

Yoko was talking to Nami, who was seated to Yoko's right at the short end of the table. She smiled as the other girl paged through the pictures she'd taken. "The lake was beautiful! You should go sometime. Here, we're all tanning and you can see it's got a beach almost like a real ocean beach." Nami's voice dropped as she leaned in. "Check out the boys, huh?"

Yoko smirked as she looked at Simon and Rossiu, shirtless. They were indeed pretty well-built, although leaner than Zoro was. She looked at Nami's and Vivi's outfits and leaned in as well. She said, "How'd you two not get busted for profligate boobery?"

Nami spluttered as she nearly burst out laughing. As it was, her face went very red with the effort of suppressing her laugh, and when she could talk again, she said, "Well, we _were_ wearing bikinis, and anyway, I'd like to see you do better." Nami stuck her tongue out at Yoko.

"Fair enough," conceded Yoko, amused at the momentary eyeful Nami took in. "But it really does look nice! I see you got a couple of pictures of the lake, as well. Was the water warm and calm all day?"

"Pretty much. There was a little wind and there weren't any clouds. It's mostly getting out that sucks, 'cause you feel cold even when the sun's shining down on you. Bring a towel, a bathing suit and a blanket, that's pretty much the minimum."

Yoko leaned back in her chair. "Nice! Well, maybe Zoro and I will check it out before the winter comes."

"You're gonna want to go next weekend, then. I think any later and it might get too chilly to be comfortable," Nami advised.

Yoko nodded, then sipped at her beer. Nami blurted, "Oh, what'd you guys get up to?"

"Hit a club last night; it's called Club Spiral, and it's in Alabasta. Great music, drinks are pretty good too and the cover's cheap if you go before ten at night. They close up at three in the morning."

Nami's glance at Simon told Yoko volumes. She looked over and saw Vivi, seated near Rossiu, touching his arm a bit more often than expected in casual conversation. Yoko took another sip, then said into Nami's ear, "So when'd you hook up with Simon?"

Nami's slightly bashful grin made Yoko chuckle. "We're kind of going out as of earlier today, but all we've done is kiss and feel each other up a bit. He's nice to talk to and hopefully we'll get to hang out later tonight or something."

"Cool."

The wings arrived at that point and conversation drifted to occasional small talk as they ate and drank. The only kerfluffle that came up was when Vivi agreed to get the entire bill.

She forcefully argued, "Look, I can afford this! Discussion closed, and if you really want to make it up some other time, be my guest. But tonight, this is on me." She smacked her credit card down on the receipt and her eyes flashed, daring anyone to keep making something of it.

Rossiu looked up at Vivi, a little stunned. It seemed Vivi wasn't usually inclined to raise her voice, so when she did, well, you sat up and took notice.

Zoro and Yoko had made the usual token protests as did Nami, Simon and Rossiu, but they had to admit, Vivi had made it a lot easier on their weekend budgets.

The discomfort at the table faded as they finished off the contents of the pitcher, then decided as one to move over to the dartboard. "Okay, how do we do this?" Zoro asked.

"Whoever gets the most bulls-eyes wins," declared Nami. "Three throws per person, and someone's gotta keep score." She pointed at Rossiu. "You do it, Mr. Math."

Simon's sudden laughter at that appellation was a bit of a mystery to Yoko, but Zoro's nudge and grin told her things were going to be very interesting. Sure enough he took aim and— _thwip! thwip! thwip!_ Three darts all clustered at the bull's eye!

Simon's jaw dropped. "Damn and hell! You're gonna wipe the fucking floor with us."

Yoko took the darts and smirked. "Oh yeah? Disappointment _squared_."

And she took careful aim, as though she were sighting down a rifle, compensating for the curvature from gravity—

_thwip! thwip!_

and…

_thwip!_

Yoko lifted her hands and whooped, getting a double high five from Zoro as he raised his hands. Simon clapped his hands to his head and groaned. "Kill me now, guys."

Nami rubbed his back and said, "Never give up too early!"

The remaining four managed to acquit themselves fairly well, even with Zoro and Yoko made to stand five feet further back than the others. Nami seemed to have a good eye for darts and came in second (Yoko and Zoro had tied for first), followed by Vivi, and then Rossiu and Simon rounded out the bottom. It seemed console gaming didn't quite translate to good eye-hand coordination at darts.

Their impromptu darts game ended by around eight o'clock, and Rossiu decided to stand them each one shot-glass of tequila. They all stood at the bar, with one glass in front of each person. Rossiu, at the end, leaned over and held his glass up. "To a fun night together," he proclaimed.

"Hear, hear!" cheered Simon, followed by the others.

With that, they all gulped down their tequilas, then slammed their glasses down on the bar in unison. Yoko, feeling the pleasant burn radiating inside her, let out a short whoop. "Great finish! Good idea, Rossiu. Mind if Zoro and I take off now?"

After a quick round of hugs and handshakes, Yoko, hand in hand with Zoro, were on their way back down East Blue Boulevard.

* * *

Simon nudged Rossiu after Zoro left with Yoko, and whispered, "You know I'm right. They're _totally_ knocking boots."

Rossiu gave him a small shove, and said, "Oh, shut up."

To the group at large, he said, "So what now?"

Nami took his hand and said to Rossiu and Vivi, "You mind if the two of us borrow one of the rooms? Doesn't matter which."

Vivi replied first. "Use ours." To Rossiu, she said, "Can we take a walk for a while?"

Rossiu nodded. "Sure! I wouldn't mind getting out of the noise either. Clear my head for a while, too."

Vivi smiled at Rossiu and hooked her arm around his.

"Okay, then. See you around!" Simon waved and let Nami drag him out of the pub.

Outside, as they walked quickly back to the residence towers, Simon asked, "Hey, you mind if I ask what exactly is on your agenda for tonight? Just, you know, so I don't get the wrong idea here."

Nami laughed. "You'll see when we get there." She smirked, clearly amused about something.

Simon sighed and kept pace with Nami, not saying anything until they got to her and Vivi's room, and she let the two of them inside. Once they were in the room, Nami pointed. "My bed, Vivi's bed."

"Same layout as ours, it looks like," Simon noted.

"Mm-hmm." Nami turned to look at him. "I'm going to be pretty blunt. I like you, you're cute and I want to do more of what we were doing today. You game?"

"Uh, yeah! Of course!"

Nami grabbed his shoulders and planted a kiss on Simon's mouth, which he gladly returned. She tugged at his hand and said, "You know where this goes," as she put his hand on her side, guiding it upwards.

Simon decided he liked Nami's style as he leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

While Nami and Simon made out, Rossiu and Vivi walked hand in hand across the university grounds at a sedate pace, the evening twilight casting long shadows as the street lights began to glow.

"So I'm curious," Vivi said, squeezing Rossiu's right hand with her left. "How did a guy like you become friends with Simon? You're similar in some ways, but he strikes me as being a little bit more…"

"Forward?" supplied Rossiu as he let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her back, resting his hand on her right shoulder. "That's fair, and it's true. I wouldn't've necessarily been so competitive in the lake swim race, for example. I think he gets some of it from Kamina, but it's like he also got all the sanity between him and his cousin, too."

Vivi put her arm around Rossiu's waist and made a noncommittal noise. As long as she could get Rossiu to talk about himself and not about her, she didn't have to answer any inconvenient questions. She tried to ignore the nagging guilty pit in her stomach that wouldn't quite shut up.

Maybe she had made a mistake getting so physically intimate with Rossiu (well, she mentally allowed, it was so far just kissing and petting, but she knew if she'd been able to go any further, she'd have liked to see what Rossiu had under those swim trunks).

But then again, didn't she deserve this?

A little happiness?

And maybe it'd be a little easier if they could distract each other, even if just by talking.

"Hey, Vivi?" asked Rossiu, squeezing her shoulder lightly. "You looked kind of distant there for a bit."

"It's nothing. So tell me, why mathematics, Rossiu?" Vivi asked, smiling widely, hoping he'd take that and run with it.

"I guess it started in high school, when I started learning algebra. Learning how numbers worked, how we could take something _real_ , like two plus some number equals five, and put that on paper – it just kinda _grabbed_ me, you know?"

And Rossiu went on in this vein for some time. Vivi smiled to herself, and noticed that Rossiu made a genuine effort to explain things without assuming she was a total idiot. And he didn't try to hint that they should go somewhere to make out, although she had a pretty good idea that he wouldn't mind doing it if the chance arose.

Maybe, thought Vivi, he could be the kind of man who could forgive the lies about to be told to him. But she wasn't sure if she would deserve forgiveness in the cause of destroying Zviad's Crocodile empire.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Inside Zoro's apartment, Yoko asked, "You okay with me staying the night again? Last night was 'cause I knew we'd be getting in pretty late, but…"

Zoro shrugged. "It's cool with me, whether you want to go back to your place, or stay here."

"Thanks; I appreciate it!" Yoko reached out and grabbed Zoro in a strong hug, then let go. "So. What now?"

"Honestly?" asked Zoro. He reached up and gently held her upper arms. He shifted on his feet and then chuckled, ducking his head. "This is harder to say outright than I thought."

Zoro cleared his throat and looked Yoko in the eye. "Yoko, can I make love to you tonight? I want to know every part of you. I want to take it slow and gentle tonight with you."

Yoko's smile slowly grew as she felt something stir within her. "I would love to, Zoro. And I want to know every part of _you_ , too. We're not in a strange building, and we're not coming back after five hours of dancing and then a half hour of you poking me in the back with your hard-on. Let's not rush this time."

Zoro leaned in and pressed his lips to Yoko's. Slowly, gently, sensually, their kiss deepened as Zoro's arms wrapped around Yoko as she pressed herself against him, her arms around his strong, muscular back.

Slowly, the two made their way to Zoro's bedroom. Zoro turned Yoko around and pressed her against the wall as he licked and sucked down the side of her neck, while his hands roamed down to cup her firm round butt. She hummed, pleased, and rubbed her butt against the growing hardness in his pants. He slid his hands down her thighs, kneading the firm muscles in her legs, before briefly sliding them under her shirt, groping her breasts through her bra.

Zoro's hands tugged at her shirt, and she raised her arms as he slowly pushed her shirt up over her head and helped get it off her, untangling it from her ponytail. A frisson went up and down her spine as he felt his hands unhook her bra strap, then push her bra down her arms and off of her before slowly turning her around, her now-free breasts tantalizing Zoro. But true to his word about taking it slowly, he pulled his shirt off, then almost negligently tossed it into a corner. He came back in close, leaned his head, and pressed his mouth to the spot just below Yoko's right ear, where her jaw met her neck.

She grabbed his shoulders, feeling the muscles work under his skin as his arms moved occasionally, and remembered that time last night, when she felt his shoulders straining as he came inside her.

The sensations from Zoro's mouth left her panting and gasping for more, as he only briefly rubbed her large mounds while kissing her neck. Finally, she could take it no more and growled, " _Please_ , Zoro."

Zoro put his hands on her breasts and said, "Oh! You mean these?"

Yoko let out a snicker. "Oh, shut up. You know what to do with them!"

Zoro just smirked and unconcernedly began licking and sucking his way down her left breast, each movement of his head getting his mouth tantalizingly close to her nipple. Yoko let her head fall back against the wall, gasping, "Enough, please!"

Zoro took the cue, and as his warm, slick tongue bathed her nipple, Yoko felt a slowly growing wetness in her pants between her legs, and her eyes fell shut as she luxuriated in the feeling of Zoro worshipping her body like this.

After several minutes of Zoro's tongue thoroughly working its magic on her nipples, Yoko felt his hands beginning to slide down, down to hook the band of her yoga pants. She shifted, allowing him access as he pulled them down, along with her completely soaked panties, then got them off of her feet, leaving her completely naked. Zoro got back up to his feet and wordlessly urged Yoko over to his bed. She sat down at the edge, her feet on the floor. As she lay back, Zoro leaned over and moved his pillow so her head could rest on it.

Excitement ramped up as Zoro knelt in front of her, pushing her knees apart. Slowly, tantalizingly, his face came nearer, and when the warm slick swipe of his tongue ran over her entrance, she let out a sharp gasp.

Zoro, bracing one hand on her left leg and groping her breast with the other, pushed his tongue in further and further, teasing her insides as her hissed commands told him what he needed to do. Eventually, inevitably, the surge began to rise within her as his tongue darted back and forth—

She grabbed his head and held it there, her breath coming more rapidly as her gasps turned into loud keening moans, until finally he brought her to the precipice and she could stand it no more—

She threw her head back and screamed as her orgasm flew through her, rocking her body with every spasm of her muscles, until finally her last almost painful spasm left her limp, slumped on the bed as she groaned, unable to form words as she recovered from Zoro eating her out so well.

Zoro crawled up onto the bed next to her and leaned down to kiss her. She found she liked the taste of herself on Zoro's tongue, and the two lovers took a respite until they could take the next step that night. She shifted up on the bed and curled up next to Zoro, resting her head on his chest as she reached out with her left hand, linking her fingers in his.

Yoko drifted off in a light sleep for about ten or so minutes, then as she felt her energy start to return, she opened her eyes and let go of Zoro's hand, trailing her hand down his muscular chest, over his trim stomach, and finally reaching her goal: wrapping her hand around his already semi-hard shaft. She slowly stroked it, feeling its weight in her hand as she felt his erection stiffen in response.

She turned her head and shifted, ensnaring Zoro's lips in a slow, lingering kiss, leaving him breathless as she continued to stroke his member to full mast. She pushed herself up on her elbow, leaning down to lick Zoro's collarbone, then kissing and licking her way down his chest until her mouth was on his right nipple. He let out a sharp hiss of pleasure, and gasped, "The other one, too!"

Yoko obliged, licking at Zoro's right nipple until she heard his breath hitch, knowing he was close. She let go of his erection, shifted again, and rested her head on his stomach, feeling his warm, smooth skin against her cheek. She could smell the same slightly musky scent as she briefly nuzzled his stomach before moving her head down, wrapping her mouth around the head of his cock, garnering a strangled moan from Zoro as she slowly, carefully took her time swirling her tongue around it, savoring the slight flow that she knew portended Zoro's essence later.

Slowly, lovingly, she slid her mouth down, down along his shaft, licking and sucking as she did so. Finally, she felt his cockhead hit the back of her throat, and just to see if she could, she tried pushing a bit further, but it was too stiff. She smiled around his erection; it didn't matter, she was almost all the way down anyway.

She gripped the base of his shaft with her left hand and began bobbing her head up and down, savoring the way he felt in her mouth, the beautiful thickness that just stretched her jaw a bit as she began working it in earnest. Yoko felt Zoro's hand curl around, grasping her breast and kneading her nipple with his fingers.

The room filled with the slight smacking sounds of Zoro's wet shaft moving in and out of Yoko's mouth and his satisfied groans as he felt the excitement rise within him. His hand shifted, gripping her shoulder.

His breathing got heavier, and Yoko felt Zoro's balls begin to tighten up a bit—

She lifted her head off his stomach and moved her head faster, sucking harder with each upstroke, and all too quickly, his body jerked, and the first burst of fluids sprayed across her tongue and hit the back of her throat with such force Yoko nearly reared back in surprise, only remembering to keep her lips on him at the last moment.

She felt his shaft pulse and his muscles jerk again, and was ready as she kept her lips wrapped around his head, feeling Zoro's warm, slightly salty yet tangy essence fill her mouth.

As his orgasm petered out, Yoko carefully swallowed, then licked off the last few drops from his organ, and lifted her head to look at him. Zoro's jaw was slack and his head lolled on the pillow he'd been resting it on. His chest still heaved slightly as he recovered; his eyes were already slowly opening again. He looked up at Yoko and said, "That was awesome!"

She smiled and kissed him, savoring his slight surprise as he tasted himself on her tongue. He made a pleased hum and kept kissing her, their tongues swiping past each other as they did so.

Slowly, gently Yoko broke the kiss and looked down into Zoro's eyes. "How was it?" she asked in a low voice.

"Beautiful," replied an awed Zoro. He chuckled. "I never knew I tasted like that before, though."

"Now you do," said Yoko.

She snuggled up to Zoro again and rested her head on his chest, feeling again the warmth of his skin against her cheek. "Let's cuddle for a while, okay?"

"Your wish is my command, my lady."

Yoko gently thumped his chest. "Oh, shut up."

His gentle laugh rumbled through his chest, and she closed her eyes, his strong, steady heartbeat lulling her back to sleep.

* * *

Simon gasped and blurted, "Gonna come—"

And at that moment, his body jerked and he shot his first load across his chest and stomach, then gasped in amazement as he shot several more times, each with the same considerable volume of his fluids until finally, with one last stroke of Nami's hand, his cock jerked and shot out a small final white blob onto his stomach.

Nami carefully took her hand away from his shaft and smiled down at him. He was lying down on her bed, still a bit shocked at the intensity of his session with Nami. She'd offered to give him a hand-job, and frankly, after kissing her and groping those gorgeous tits of hers, he'd been so turned on he was happy to nod his head "yes!"

"Was it good for you?" she asked, a slight smirk on her face.

Simon heaved a sigh. "Hell, yes!" He looked down at his torso and groaned. "But man, I gotta clean this up." Nami grinned and produced a towel. "You're a lifesaver, babe."

Simon frowned as he carefully wiped off his chest and stomach, and said, "Hey. Um, what about you?"

Nami shook her head. "Not today; we don't have time. Just remember you owe me one for next time."

"Like I'd forget!" Simon laughed.

Nami leaned down and kissed him thoroughly, then said, "All right then, up you get. Just text me or something and we'll figure out what to do next time. Maybe we can go over to your room next time and put on a movie or something."

"Sure, that'd be cool." Simon made a mental note to ask Rossiu if they had any movies as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on, then yanked up his pants and buttoned them. He knew the console would play DVDs, so that wasn't the problem. Hopefully there was still a freakin' movie rental place somewhere, he thought.

"Um, what do I do with this?" He indicated the towel, and Nami pointed at a pile of laundry she had to do. "Mind if I just wash my hands real quick?"

"I gotta do that too, so c'mon." Nami gestured him into the bathroom, and after they dried their hands off and stepped back into Nami's room, he reached out and she stepped into the hug.

She rubbed his back and said, "Thanks for coming over."

Simon returned the backrub and said, "And thank _you_."

Nami moved back a bit and smiled at him.

Simon let go of Nami and said, "I'll catch you later. If we can't hang out on campus maybe we can go on a date somewhere."

"I'd like that. Good night, Simon."

Simon was soon back at his and Rossiu's residence room, and he decided it would be a good idea to take a quick shower before his friend came back.

* * *

Vivi and Rossiu had finally given in to their mutual attraction, and at first had gone up to the floor where Rossiu's and Simon's room was. Rossiu quietly unlocked the door, then stuck his head in. He hurriedly backed out and said, "Simon's already back. I see his clothes and the shower's running."

So they had sneaked off to the basement of Lagann Tower. There was the large laundry room off one side of the main hallway, and then several smaller rooms, one of which turned out to be a maintenance closet that had been left unlocked.

After about ten or fifteen minutes of some rather intense and thorough exploration of each other's bodies, Rossiu broke apart from Vivi, his breath heavy. He swallowed, then looked at the door. "Look, this is really exciting, but I _really_ don't wanna get caught."

Vivi bit her lip. "You're right." She sighed. "This wasn't actually that great of an idea."

Rossiu snorted and chuckled. "You're telling me! You're the one with her shirt off all but begging me to suck on your tits some more."

Vivi blushed and after readjusting her bra and pulling her shirt back down, countered with, "Well, look what I've been stroking for the last minute or so!"

Rossiu grimaced and hurriedly stuffed his erection back in his pants and buttoned up. "We better go."

Vivi reached for the doorknob and cracked the door slightly. She listened, and heard no footfalls. She eased it open all the way, peeking left and right. Nobody was around. She gestured anxiously at Rossiu and together, they made their way back up to the ground floor of the residence hall.

In the empty hall, Rossiu said in a low voice, "Next time? I'm gonna think with the right head and just tell Simon I want to use the room."

Vivi pulled back, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Smart idea."

Rossiu rolled his eyes. "Not so smart this time, I gotta say."

Vivi's smile got wider. "Well, until next time. Call me or text me; we should maybe go out on an actual date next time before we start scheduling intimate encounters."

Rossiu made a slight bow with his head. "Until next time." He looked into her eyes and brushed a stray hair off her forehead. "I'll let you know. G'night." He leaned in and pecked her on the forehead, then made his way to the elevator.

Vivi waved, went across the street and returned to the room she shared with Nami.

* * *

Vivi could smell the sex in the air even with the windows open, and Nami looked up from her computer with a slightly guilty look on her face. Vivi waved her hand as she sprawled on her bed. "Just get some Febreze next time."

Nami frowned. "Is something wrong? I mean, besides me giving Simon a—"

"Um," Vivi broke in. "You _might_ wanna stop there."

Nami guffawed, "He's probably already telling Rossiu he got a hand-job. So what?"

Vivi made a face. "I guess I'm just a little frustrated. I did something a bit stupid. I made out with Rossiu down in the other tower's basement."

Nami laughed. "No way! You go, girl!"

"It's—" Vivi sat up and looked Nami in the eye. "—it was dangerous! What if we'd been caught? I couldn't take the embarrassment."

"Why didn't you just use his room?" Nami said reasonably as she sprawled over her bed, then raised herself up on her elbow and rested her head in her hand.

"Well, Simon was already back, but Rossiu could've kicked him out, and I didn't just suggest waiting for Simon to finish so they could talk. That's what I've been kicking myself for over the last few minutes. I mean, we hugged goodnight outside the towers, and then he got a look down my shirt, and I could feel him against me, and I—" Vivi sighed and let her shoulders slump.

"Shit happens, Vivi. I've done a couple of stupid things in my life, too, okay? In fact—" Nami's voice dropped to a confidential tone "—I got caught by my mom when she came home early and found me getting my hands down a girl's pants."

"What happened?"

"She just told her to get dressed and go home, and then made sure I knew about – well, everything. Even pregnancy and condoms, just in case. Then she told me I didn't have to hide my relationships or what I did. If I needed privacy, I just had to lock my door."

Vivi's eyes went wide. "Wow. She trusted you, huh?"

"Yeah. I think it was because of that she knew I wouldn't abuse it. And I didn't have any wild parties in there or anything, though I did lose 'it' to a pretty cute guy senior year."

"What happened to him?"

Nami brushed the bedsheets in front of her. "Eh. He's probably working for his old man in the bookstore. Anyway, forget him. Are _you_ okay?"

Vivi growled. "No! I'm just… sheesh! I'm still turned on! That's what it is," she admitted, her face flushing.

"Oh! If you wanna use the bathroom, or I can leave—" Nami offered.

Desire rose within Vivi. Even so, it was – well, it was a bit terrifying. Her legs shook as she said in a small voice, "I… would you help me?"

Nami sat up, her feet on the floor. "Wh—are you _sure_?"

The warmth in Vivi's insides won out, and she nodded. "I am."

Nami stood and extended her hands. Vivi took them and let herself be pulled up to face her roommate. Nami leaned in, and Vivi opened her mouth, accepting the kiss.

It was different from Rossiu's. Rossiu's kisses felt a bit rougher, while Nami's lips were smoother and gentler. Vivi's hand rose of its own accord, encircling Nami's breast. She squeezed a bit, feeling the resilient firmness under the yielding of Nami's skin.

Nami's hand did the same, and Vivi was surprised at how expertly her hand moved, brushing across Vivi's nipple with just the right pressure to send a small jolt through her.

As soon they parted from the kiss, both girls breathing heavily, they began yanking their clothes off, racing to get completely naked with each other. They kissed again, and Nami's hand dove between Vivi's legs, stroking firmly and insistently at her, pushing inside, sending Vivi's brain into overload as she gripped Nami, trying not to whimper too loudly as she felt Nami pulling her much-welcome release from her.

They moved to Vivi's bed—

Nami sucked her nipples, driving her nearly to the edge, then her head dove between her legs—

Vivi's eyes flew open in shock as the first wave of her orgasm hammered through her. She grabbed her pillow a split second before her screams came, and she cried her welcome, crashing relief into the pillow, muffling them as her body shook, slamming her into the bed with each jerk of her muscles.

A tired, exhausted Vivi weakly shoved the pillow under her head as she lay prone on her bed, staring glassily at the ceiling.

She barely heard the hard, wet smacking sounds of Nami quickly satisfying herself on her own bed, only registering Nami's loud gasping sobs as she gained her own blessed release from the tension of the day.

Vivi let her eyes fall shut, and she crashed into a deep sleep, free from the day's earlier stresses.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: This is actually an "interlude" chapter and so is not officially numbered chapter 10, although AO3 will indicate it as such.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Sunday morning had Vivi and Nami staring awkwardly at each other as they rose from their beds. Vivi tried not to look at Nami's body, and Nami seemed to be finding it difficult to not feast her eyes on Vivi's naked breasts in particular.

After several minutes, Nami finally slumped back on her head, put her head in her hand and said, "This is _ridiculous_."

Vivi sat down on her bed and leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her.

Nami said to the floor, "There is _no_ reason we should be embarrassed. We're not exclusive with the boys, we went to bed with each other of our own free will, so… why does my face feel like a furnace?"

Vivi let out a gust of air through her nose. "It's confusing. And we were…" She trailed off in momentary confusion, not sure what to say. Just as she opened her mouth to keep talking, Nami interrupted.

"We don't have to talk about it," Nami said. "I told you I wouldn't push you, and if you don't wanna do it again I can live with that."

She got up and went into the shower, the door clicking with a seeming air of finality. Nami had made a promise and she'd stick to it.

So why, Vivi wondered, did she think maybe she could like Rossiu _and_ Nami? And why did she wish Nami had stayed a few seconds longer?

* * *

Meanwhile, in the shower, Nami scrubbed her hair furiously, and tried not to think about punching the wall. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!

It was the dumbest of excuses: she was all turned-on from jerking Simon off, and then Vivi came home, and _she_ was still turned on, and somehow the two of them had had an absolutely mindblowing experience.

Which nonetheless seemed to have been a bad idea; she wasn't supposed to be pushing a girl still exploring her own sexuality like that.

And yet – the back of Nami's brain kept reminding her in that little traitorous voice that Vivi _had_ asked _her_ for satisfaction.

* * *

Simon and Rossiu, heedless of the girls' dilemmas, had laughed until they were sick of it at the thought of Rossiu having used the stereotypical broom closet to make out with a girl.

"The only thing that would've made it worse is if someone had piped in 'Bow chicka bow wow' into the room, man," Simon had said between gasps of laughter.

When Rossiu had managed to calm down, he said, "You know, shouldn't this be a lot weirder than it is?"

Simon shook his head. "Not really. I mean, Rossiu? We've been friends for what, like six years now?"

"Probably longer. I mean, I moved into your town when I was like, ten and I know we met when I was twelve. It was when I was feeding the rat for our class, Boota."

Simon held his gaze as he shifted over to Rossiu's bed and put his hand on the other's shoulder. "I remember. And in those seven or so years, we've done shit that _should've_ been called 'weird' by either of us. Remember that time your parents were away and you let me use your bed so I could sleep with that one chick? You went somewhere for a couple hours.

"And then we started banging each other and all that shit starting in junior year. So I figure me telling you I got a hand job from Nami and you telling me you were sucking Vivi's tits in a broom closet, that's pretty tame."

Rossiu chuckled. "All right, yeah, okay."

Simon clapped Rossiu on the back. "Great. Now unless I make my mistake, your pants look like you're trying to pitch a tent in there. Should take care of that, huh? Want a little help?"

Rossiu shook his head. "Just go back to what you're doing."

Simon nodded and went back to his computer, slipping his headphones on as he did so. Rossiu had his boxers off in no time, and visions of Vivi's body danced across his eyes as he imagined being with her.

* * *

Basam, clad in a fencing jacket, stood in the large gymnasium with the nine other members of the fencing club which met on Thursdays at four o'clock in the afternoon. A large mobile wooden shed was behind him. Basam stood on a long mat, which Zoro knew to be a fencing mat.

He grinned and said, "Hey! You probably all know who I am – Basam! Now, in case you don't know each other, could we have some quick intros?"

Zoro, already wearing his own fencing jacket, led off, followed rapidly by others, and when that was done, Basam smiled again. "Great! Okay, to start off with I'm going to necessarily be starting from basics. For starters, we'll be working with foils. Also, I see that you all have followed the instructions I sent in the mass e-mail and avoided extremely loose upper-body clothing in particular, as we'll be using fencing jackets. I see at least one of you—" he waved at Zoro "—has your own fencing attire already.

"Now foils are primarily for sport fencing, and as far as safety regulations here go, they are the least troublesome. Thus, the university has several in storage for people like us who would like to do fencing. We'll try to get to actual swords maybe once this semester, but I have to put down a safety deposit and rent them and it can be a hassle."

Basam opened the wooden cabinet, pulled out a foil, and said, "As you can see, there's a special ball on the end to protect you from the point of a foil, and furthermore—" he ran his finger along the blade "—the blade itself is dulled to keep from hurting yourself or others. Even so, we will use head guards – that is, masks – any time two people are duelling. For getting started in fencing, these foils will be just about perfect. So, if you'll all come up and pick up a foil, a fencing jacket, and head guard, please!"

Basam stepped to the side of the cabinet, opening the door to show the neatly arrayed foils, jackets and headgear. Zoro hefted his personal foil which he had brought with him, feeling the weight in his hand. After the fencing gear had been distributed, Basam explained more about fencing basics, which Zoro already knew, and then set the group to practicing. Zoro donned his head guard and began.

Soon, the group of people were practicing (or refreshing themselves) on basic fencing moves, such as attacks, feints, and lunges. The offensive moves were easy, since they didn't need to be correctly demonstrated with someone else doing the countering move. For the defensive moves, what Basam decided to do was have an impromptu fencing match with Zoro, which made Zoro grin widely. He had the other members line up and watch, while he and Zoro got their head guards on and went through the standard duelling courtesies.

"Okay!" Basam announced. "I'm going to thrust—"

And just as he did, Zoro automatically parried, which pushed Basam's foil away.

"And Zoro parried!" Basam stepped back and turned to the group. "You see that? You're knocking the attacker's foil to the side when you parry. So why don't you get your headguards on, get into groups of two, and do one after the other. One person thrusts, the other person parries, and back and forth."

Basam pulled off his head guard, came up to Zoro, and said, "So what do you think? Could this keep your interest?"

"It's a little basic, but it's nice to do this again. I wish my sensei were here, though. He was really pushing me into some advanced stuff when I left. Dual sword wielding, stuff like that."

Basam whistled. "Nice. Well, I'll definitely try to get swords for at least one session, maybe even have a mini-tournament or something."

"Cool." A flash of red hair at the door caught Zoro's attention, and he looked over to see Yoko walking towards the bleachers near the group. He smiled and waved, and she grinned back, waving as well. A low whistle caught Zoro's ears, and he looked back at Basam. " _That's_ your girlfriend? Damn!"

Zoro let out a short laugh. "Yeah. We met almost by accident, really, but we clicked almost like that—" he snapped his fingers "—and here we are."

"Cool. I'm not exactly seeing anyone – well, there's a girl I hang out with every now and then. Her name's Amaris. She's a soph geography major, and she used to be in the fencing club. That's how I met her. She doesn't really have time for it now though, now that her courses are getting tougher." Basam sighed.

Basam looked up and saw that the members of the group were getting used to the moves, so he stopped them and said, "Now I'm going to demonstrate some more moves with Zoro here, so please watch. Also notice that again, any time we are doing fencing with another person instead of simply practicing moves by ourselves, we use the proper protective headgear."

The rest of the one-hour session passed by quickly, and Zoro grinned as he walked over to Yoko, who was coming down from the bleachers. He set his stuff down on the nearby bench for the moment.

"Hey!" she said. "That looked interesting!"

She grabbed him in a hug, which he returned, and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. Zoro replied, "Yeah, it was. You liked watching it?"

"Seems like fun, yeah." Yoko took Zoro's free hand as he carefully scooped up his fencing things from beside him. "So, your place or mine tonight?"

"Hmm. What's on your mind for supper?" Zoro wondered as they walked out of the gymnasium.

"Well, chicken was on sale yesterday down at the market so I picked some up. Want to have some?"

Zoro exclaimed, "Your place sounds good, then!"

And an hour later, the two of them sat down to a chicken and rice meal, which turned out to be very good, and then began their homework, interspersed with the occasional kiss.

* * *

By the time Thursday rolled around, the atmosphere of tension in Vivi's and Nami's room had finally reached the breaking point.

Nami slammed her books down on her desk, startling Vivi. She sat down in her chair, rolled it in front of Vivi, and said, "We gotta talk. About everything."

Vivi's stomach twisted and she said, "S-sure. Okay."

"it's simple. This shit is ridiculous. We can talk about this like grown-ups, for pete's sake. I've been doing a lot of thinking and this is my take. I like Simon. He's cute, he's cool, he's fun to hang out with. I think I like Rossiu the same way, but more as a friend than a possible boyfriend. But I also like you. And not just as a friend, as a _girl_ friend."

Vivi, a little stunned, said, "W-why?"

"Because. You're smart, you're beautiful, and you're great to hang around with too. And if the boys can make it work between them and stay friends, I'm sure we can too. The only thing is, do _you_ want to do the same thing?"

Vivi sat back in her chair and thought. She looked at Nami: bright orange hair framed an attractive face with a strong jaw, and set off her hazel-brown eyes. Her trim body had been featuring in some of Vivi's recent dreams, and she _knew_ there was at least _some_ attraction to women in her make-up.

And honestly, she could do worse than be Nami-sexual as far as girls went.

"I think I do," said Vivi slowly. "And I think I'd be okay with trying things with you. I just kind of plunged in at the deep end, I guess, instead of taking it slowly like I thought I would if I ever got around to it."

Nami extended her hand, palm up. Vivi hesitated, then reached out and clasped it in her own hand. "Vivi, I _swear_ I won't hurt you. I mean, I know that sounds dumb and corny, but you're new to girls and I have some experience, so I don't want to push you into anything you're not totally cool with." She looked away, then muttered, "I guess I sort of thought I did that night – pushed you, I mean."

"Don't be ridiculous," urged Vivi. "I asked _you_ first."

Nami didn't say anything; she just held Vivi's hand and wore a slight smile. Then, after a few moments, she lifted Vivi's hand and pressed a light kiss on the back of her hand, then slowly let go.

"Then the next time, go ahead and ask me. I'll be here."

Vivi smiled. "Nami?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I sleep next to you in your bed?"

Nami's smile couldn't have been blasted off with a shotgun after that.

* * *

Tanya Valentine came up to Yoko Littner on Friday afternoon. As at the party earlier, Valentine's demeanor set Yoko on guard, but she made sure to stay as polite as she could. That stance was rewarded when Valentine gave Yoko a piece of paper. "If you choose to pledge for Tau Iota Epsilon, these are the instructions and guidelines you'll need to read over before the prospective new member meeting tonight."

"Would you mind if I asked why you're approaching me and not someone else?"

Valentine's smile got disturbingly predatory again. "You made a good impression on me earlier."

Yoko took the paper and nodded. "Then it would be my pleasure to pledge for the sorority of Tau Iota Epsilon – er, how do I address you?"

"Just call me Miss Valentine. And see you tonight."

* * *

Vivi decided to look into the intern program generally as her first step. She decided to go in her professional clothes, and so wore a grey suit and skirt combination, with a white blouse to go with it. After her classes on an early Friday afternoon, she walked into the large Administration building, went through the wide, expansive central hall, and proceeded to the Co-operative Education Office on the second floor.

In the office, as she waited in line with a number of other students, she filled in the basic questionnaire, then unobtrusively took a snapshot of it; this would be the first of many steps she took to exhaustively document her quest to bring down Cameron Zviad.

At the intake desk, she handed in her questionnaire and was told to wait at a bank of seats after taking a number. She went to her left and through a doorway, then took a seat next to a guy poring over a chemistry textbook on her right and on her left was a girl with earphones, unconcernedly listening to music and bobbing her head to the beat. It seemed many students were eager to get a head start on getting placements for positions within companies as a potential stepping-stone to future jobs.

Vivi noticed some security cameras in the room. She made a mental note to find out if her father could get someone to unobtrusively pull the footage if she ever needed it.

Before long—

"Number 394?"

Vivi looked up and saw a tall, angular woman in a suit calling out the number. She stood, briefly brushed her hand over her skirt and said, "That's me."

She trailed the woman down a corridor, and as she did so, she stuck her hand in her pocket and set her phone to record and store the conversation or conversations she was about to have.

The woman escorted Vivi to one side of an array of cubicle-like desks, then went around and sat on the opposite side and pulled up the particulars of Vivi's questionnaire on her computer after punching in the student number off Vivi's ID card.

"Hello, Vivi. I'm Margaret Johnson, and first of all I'd like to explain a bit about what's going on. You're at the general questionnaire and application stage of both the co-operative education and interning programs. The idea is to get a general idea of where you want to be placed, and then if appropriate link you with your faculty-specific co-op advisor to make sure you're suited for the job or jobs you might want to do. With me so far?"

Vivi nodded and smiled slightly as she crossed her legs, leaning forward slightly to show she was interested.

Margaret leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the desk. She briefly glanced at her monitor then back at Vivi. "Good. Now I see you've indicated a major in political science, but you want to be considered for almost any Faculty of Arts related co-op or internship positions. Could you give me an idea of why you want to branch out of political science?"

"Of course. I want to pursue a career in diplomacy, and the 'soft skills' of human interaction and cultural sensitivity can be found in almost any position, even – dare I say – fast food. The multicultural nature of the workplace, for example. More importantly is that the increasing closeness of business and government, particularly in international commerce, means that even if I choose to work for the government, I need to be sensitive to the private sector. This requires me to think beyond things like legislative internships, although I wouldn't be averse to government internships that do require contact with the private sector."

 _So I can see who Zviad is bribing,_ she thought, _if I'm in the right spot._

Margaret leaned back in her chair and studied Vivi. "Hm. Well, you certainly have thought this out, it seems! For freshman students who want to be considered for summer full-time or spring part-time positions, you will have a very demanding time ahead of you: we require a minimum GPA of 3.00, which we relax to 2.67 for sophomores and above. This is because freshman students often have the most difficult adjustment period and showing that you can put in the time and effort for your academics helps give confidence you'll do the same in the workplace.

"Now there _is_ one important difference: internships can be paid or unpaid, while co-op positions must be paid. Tuition will be waived in either case, but you will need to make sure you have some kind of income if you take an internship. With that in mind, would you like to continue to have your name made available to companies who might wish to contact you?"

Vivi nodded. "Absolutely!"

"All right, then." Margaret began tapping at her keyboard. When she finished, she said, "You'll now be in the second stage, which is the application-for-jobs stage. There will be occasional seminars and information sessions you will probably want to attend. You'll also continue to meet with me periodically, but rarely at first – really, only if there's a serious problem with your transcript which will require considering your alternatives. Later on as we get closer to the spring or to the summer, depending, will we meet more frequently to make sure you're satisfied with the offers you're getting.

"One final thing. If you still want to be considered for more specific political-science-connected positions, I can put you in touch with the departmental co-op professor. Aside from that, it looks like you're on your way, Vivi."

Margaret stood up, shook hands with Vivi, then ushered her back out of the office. Margaret called someone else's number as Vivi passed back through the waiting room, then left the Administration Building.

 _The seminars would be the key_ , Vivi thought. _The first step has begun!_

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a college AU starring Nami, Vivi, Zoro, Yoko, Simon and Rossiu with Kamina and Luffy as supporting characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional General Notes: This fic will feature both het and slash relationships among men and women. There will be both brief and detailed descriptions of sex at points in the story. But there will also be drama, tension, happiness, sadness, stupidity and brilliance.

**Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation, as well as Gainax, and/or Aniplex and Konami.**

* * *

Yoko adjusted her baseball cap and took a deep breath, inhaling fresh mountain air as she and Zoro sat next to each other in the middle seat of a rowboat, drifting along far from the shore of Lake Livar. The sun shone down steadily from almost directly overhead.

The oars, left in the rowlocks, were out of the water in their stern supports, and a small basket sat at their feet. She reached down, pulled out a package of watermelon slices, and took one out then bit off a piece off one end, savoring the flavor as she chewed.

Zoro looked over, pointed, and said, "Can I have some of that?"

"Sure thing!" Yoko grinned and said, "Open wide!"

Zoro did so, and Yoko couldn't resist the perfect opportunity he'd handed her. She stuffed the entire remainder of her watermelon slice into his mouth, and his cheeks bulged as he tried to chew it. She burst out laughing and said, "You look ridiculous!"

Zoro mock-growled and chewed rapidly, trying to swallow fast enough so he could get out an answer.

She rubbed his back and chuckled, "Sorry, Zoro. It was just a beautiful setup you handed me there." She leaned over and pecked him on his (now not bulging as much) cheek.

Yoko plucked at the fabric of his shirt. "Nice muscle shirt. Shows off your arms pretty nicely, I gotta say."

Zoro was wearing a white sleeveless shirt with blue Bermuda shorts. Yoko, for her part, was wearing a light-grey tight tank top and medium grey athletic shorts that went to her knees. Even though it was approaching mid-September, she could still feel the warmth of the early-fall sun, and was happy she'd insisted on sunscreen and some more protective clothing than just swimsuits when she and Zoro were packing her motorcycle for the day trip.

Zoro, by now able to speak, eyed her outfit. "I'd say yours shows off—" he wiggled his eyebrows "—you rather well. Oh, and your arms too."

Yoko pressed her lips together, trying to hold in her laughter as she punched his knee. "Perv! Were you staring at my ass when we got on the boat, too?"

"And who was trying to undress me with her eyes when she was helping me in?" Zoro's eyes glistened in mirth as he just managed to hold in his laughter as well.

Yoko raised her hands in good-natured surrender. "Okay, we've established that we're equally perverts around each other. As for this outing, I've gotta say this was a great idea."

Zoro nodded. "Yep. Being on the water's nice, and you don't have to worry about all that beach stuff, like sand on your feet or whatever."

Yoko gently bumped her shoulder against his and said, "Good thing the boat rental was so cheap. But maybe in the spring we can come out here again, get some beach tanning in with the others."

Zoro snapped his fingers. "Hey, we should send them a picture. Can you get your phone?"

Yoko grinned, dug in the basket again and pulled out her cell phone. She put her arm around Zoro, who reciprocated the gesture. She leaned her head against his, and one picture later, had it off to Nami, who she knew would send it around to their other friends.

She replaced the phone in the basket and promised, "I sent you a copy, too."

"Thanks."

Yoko looked around the wide expanse of water, taking in the surrounding tree-covered hills and mountains. She let out a gusty sigh and leaned against Zoro, putting her hand on his thigh to steady herself as he rubbed her back briefly.

"You okay?" She could feel the rumble of his voice through his chest. It felt nice.

"Yeah. Just doing a little thinking. Have I told you I'm rushing the sorority? Tau Iota?"

Zoro's eyebrows went up. "No, I didn't know that. What can you tell me about it?"

"Thursday night was – I guess it was kind of ordinary. But then Friday was a little weird. Lemme just tell you the whole thing, all right?"

"We've got nothing but time, that's for sure. It's only noon now," Zoro reassured her.

* * *

Yoko Littner, in a new blouse and skirt, walked through the open doors of Tau Iota Epsilon just before six o'clock on Thursday night. She could hear the babbling inside the main foyer, which came, she discovered, from about thirty prospective pledges all seated on chairs that made a wide circle on the carpeted part of the foyer. Yoko remembered that it had been cleared of all furniture on the opening bash night the first day of classes.

A few chairs were still empty, so she picked one and went to sit down. Yoko noticed a few sorority members talking to the distinctive blonde, Tanya Valentine, all standing over by the wall, where the floor was waxed hard wood. Yoko looked around the circle of young women, and noticed that to her left was an empty chair, and to her right, a black-haired girl hurriedly checking her face in a compact mirror before snapping it shut and giving Yoko a brief glance and a quick smile.

Shortly after, one of the girls talking to Valentine went to shut the main doors, and Tanya herself came to stand in the center of the circle of chairs. She was wearing a light blue sweater and a white dress, and wore expensive-looking white high-heeled shoes. Her elegant blonde hair was perfectly styled; not one hair went astray. The other sorority members took the remaining chairs, a brown-haired girl wearing round glasses in a light metal frame sitting at Yoko's left.

"Hi, everyone! I'd like to welcome you to our new pledge orientation session." Tanya smiled, and to Yoko's surprise, it actually seemed genuine. Had she been imagining the other times, then? "You've all been invited, either by myself or by one of our members, some of whom you are seeing here tonight. In fact one of them is the Vice-President, Kinon." She gestured at the girl to Yoko's left, who smiled and gave the group a friendly wave.

Tanya put her hand on her chest briefly and said, "And I'm the President." She began walking in a small circle, looking at each pledge as she spoke, her words drawing them in. "If you choose to leave tonight and not pledge the sorority, you can do so without prejudice. But if you stay, you begin learning our history and about the inner workings of this sorority, which means that if you leave _after tonight_ , you must understand: we will not ask you to come to recruitment again and if you rush here, you will not be allowed to pledge.

"There is a rich and storied history of Greek Letter Organizations, as they tend to be officially termed. Ours, Tau Iota Epsilon, goes back over fifty years in its current form, and has been paired with the Phi Alpha Rho for that long as well. There is a meaning behind the letters we use to name our sorority, and you will all learn this if you continue in the pledging process.

"You will each be paired with a Big Sister, and if you choose to continue rushing here, you'll be probationary members and will be e-mailed or texted the details of your meeting with the person who'll be overseeing your rush starting tomorrow. There will be social occasions. There will be private one-on-one meetings. We'll have small informal examinations." Tanya smiled and spread her hands as she kept slowly walking in her small circle. "All this is designed for us to see who fits us best and who might be best suited to another organization."

As if by happenstance, she came to a stop, facing Yoko Littner.

"I do hope you all make it."

And for the first time that night, Yoko could see the predator lurking behind Tanya's cordial smile as her gaze lingered on Yoko for a brief moment.

Yoko blinked, and the predator disappeared as Tanya beamed widely and turned to leave the circle, her shoes seeming to click ominously as she walked. She stopped, then turned again on her heeled shoe to face the group. "This is our first social occasion as sorority members meeting with potential probationers, so remember: if you meet your Big Sister tomorrow, you stay, or you leave and don't come back."

Just as the weight of that pronouncement seemed to settle oppressively on Yoko, Valentine beamed and gestured off to her right at a table being uncovered. "And now, please enjoy some refreshments!"

At that point, the new pledges stood up and began milling around, and a low babble rose up as people began conversations in the line-up for snacks and drinks.

Yoko, in the line, felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a pleased-sounding "Hello!" as she turned to see Tanya Valentine, as if by coincidence, standing behind her in the line-up. The sorority president smiled, and said, "What do you think so far?" She let go of Yoko's shoulder.

"Hmm! Pretty interesting, I have to say." Yoko wanted to frown, but dared not show skepticism or doubt. Valentine seemed unusually interested in her.

"So can I count on you to be back tomorrow?" Tanya lifted a thin, well-sculpted eyebrow.

Yoko, thinking of a room with a window and fresh air, smiled and nodded. "Of course!"

"Good." They approached the table. Yoko took a small apple strudel and then poured some coffee from the urn into a plastic cup, to which she added her usual heavy dose of cream and sugar.

Valentine, for her part, was sipping at some tea. She briefly rested her hand on Yoko's arm and said, "I'll talk to you later, if I get the chance. Otherwise, expect your message tomorrow." She made her way through the crowd, and Yoko lifted her eyebrow, wondering why the president was taking such an interest in her.

That was confirmed when the friendly vice-president, Kinon, came up to her and shook hands. Yoko noticed they were about the same height. They introduced themselves, and after that, Kinon said, "I just wanted to come and say a quick hello to you. I'm doing my own meet and greet, as you can see."

Yoko nodded. "Thank you."

"So tell me, who's Yoko Littner and why should she stick out in my head?" Kinon smiled and sipped her orange juice.

Yoko found herself smiling back as she replied, "Because I have a motorbike and I can tear it apart and put it back together again."

* * *

"You wouldn't believe how fast Kinon and I hit it off after that. And she was _so_ not creepy compared to Tanya. I don't get it, how she can have that look on her face like she wants to eat you and yet, she manages to mostly hide it and even grab your attention."

Zoro shrugged. "Beats me, honestly."

"Me too. Anyway…"

* * *

On Friday after classes, Yoko sat at a small table in the food court of the Student Union Building.

She had already read the paper she's been given, but she re-read it as she waited, her phone beside her on the table, for the all-important text message she was supposed to get any moment now.

The paper itself was actually rather ordinary: a concise one-page history of Tau Iota Epsilon, a brief explanation of rushing (which would last two weeks), and some pictures plus short descriptions about the officialdom of the TIE chapter at Midland University. Yoko noticed that the picture of Valentine featured her wearing a round yellow cap. The Vice-President, Kinon, was actually in her senior year of university.

Yoko's phone rang, and her heartbeat picked up as she grabbed it up from the table and looked at the screen.

"Aw, _shit!_ " she exclaimed with a heavy sigh and tilting her head back to roll her eyes at the ceiling. It was just Zoro, texting her to say he was going to hang out with Simon and Rossiu and check out their gaming console. She dismissed the message and, with great restraint, placed her phone back on the table rather than smacking it down.

A few minutes later, her phone rang again and this time, the message read: "Meet your Big Sister in the courtyard by the fountain at 3:00."

Yoko looked at the time: It was now ten to three. She dropped her phone in her backpack, swept it up and over her shoulder and marched out into the wide central courtyard, her eyes scanning for anyone who might be from the sorority. Her pulse raced as she knew she was in this to finish, now.

Suddenly, Yoko's eyes fastened on a head of distinctive blonde hair, and she walked up to the edge of the fountain in stunned disbelief. " _You're_ my Big Sister, Miss Valentine?! But—"

Tanya laughed. "What? I'm allowed to be part of rush, aren't I?"

"But – well, couldn't this be considered, I don't know, favoritism?" Yoko's mind raced as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Tanya shook her head. "We all still have to vote on you in two weeks. I'm just one person in the executive," she said demurely.

Yoko wasn't sure she believed that. If Valentine had essentially chosen to openly show that she was sponsoring Yoko, there was no way in hell she'd be blackballed off the sorority initiate list for fear of antagonizing their President.

Even as Yoko thought all this, Tanya was already extending her hand. "And now, officially, welcome to the next two weeks of your life as I oversee your rush of Tau Iota."

Yoko shook hands, and then Tanya linked her arm in the crook of Yoko's elbow and urged her along. "Come, Yoko. It's time for a different kind of social gathering this evening."

* * *

"That sounds officially creepy," Zoro said.

"You have _no_ idea!" Yoko shook her head in disbelief. "I know it's part of the whole, 'hidden mysteries of the sorority' thing, but _still_." She remembered something and hurriedly added, "And Zoro? You _have_ to promise that anything I say to you about sorority things has to stay between you and me. Okay?"

"Of course! Yeah!" Zoro kissed the side of her head and said, "I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks," said Yoko in heartfelt relief. "So, as she said, it was definitely different. Not hazing, quite, but…"

* * *

In a rectangular room on the second floor of the sorority house, twenty-two people now stood along one wall Yoko among them, as ten Big Sisters (Valentine included) stood near the opposite wall.

Tanya said, "I see a good fraction of you have decided to accept and pledge this sorority. Excellent. So why don't we all introduce ourselves? We'll start, on this side. I'm Tanya Valentine, your President. As probationary members you can't yet call us by our first names. So I'm Miss Valentine to you girls."

The other Big Sisters introduced themselves, followed by the "Littles", the probationers. Yoko tried to remember all their names, but couldn't quite keep them straight.

Tanya took front and center again. "Now, you may have heard about hazing. Midland University bans the practice where it might cause harm or discomfort. So don't worry; we're not going to make you swelter in a sauna, or anything like that." She lifted her finger. " _But_ this is normally used as a dining room as well as a relaxation lounge. And dining rooms need _food_. So! Your Big Sisters are going to give you a piece of paper, and on that paper is a food or drink item you need to find and bring back. We'll be watching to see who gets back the fastest and who dawdles and takes their time. And remember: if you forget yourself and address your Big Sister without 'Miss' and their last name, we'll be marking that down too."

Tanya walked up to Yoko, and the other people began milling around as well. She handed Yoko a piece of paper that read "Frozen yogurt", and named a very specific brand. Yoko nodded and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can, Miss Valentine."

With that, Yoko sped out of the room, her mind racing as she tried to remember where you could get that kind of frozen yogurt, if not on campus. She grimaced. "Damn it!" The only place that had it was going to be the grocery store, and that meant a fast dash home and a motorcycle ride.

Forty minutes later, Yoko was thundering down Pantheon Road, a bucket of frozen yogurt in her shopping bag. She dashed into TIE, rushed up the stairs, and to her surprise only a few people were back already. She tried to slow her heaving breaths and unobtrusively wipe the sweat off her forehead as she held up the bag and said, "I have it, Miss Valentine!" Tanya pointed her at the rear of the room.

A table had been moved against the far wall opposite the door, and Yoko saw that there was a refrigerator next to it. She put the frozen yogurt in the freezer and helped the other pledges get bowls and set up the snacks. She noticed that each one was an unusual item, or an unusual twist on an item. One bowl held low-fat unsalted twisted pretzel sticks. Another held unsalted chips of a specific brand Yoko didn't think was sold except at a tiny corner store a block east of the Devil's Fruit (and the one or two times she had gone, it always seemed kind of dumpy and several of the food products had been past their expiry date); she devoutly hoped these chips were okay to eat. Other items were similarly somewhat hard to find.

A smile tugged at Yoko's lips as she realized she'd figured it out: they had all been sent to get very specific food items. This hazing ritual was a bit frazzling, but the worst it would do is make a few of the young women sweat bricks trying to find the one specific thing needed for the occasion.

More girls returned by dribs and drabs, and the very last to return an hour and a half after the initial missions were given out was a tall frizzy-haired girl who currently had a very red face and leaned against the doorway as she gasped, "Miss Valentine! The ultra-lite diet root beer!"

And she held in her hand two bottles of a store brand that Yoko had never seen before in her life.

* * *

"That doesn't seem too unusual," remarked Zoro.

"True. But then Tanya got me aside later." Yoko frowned. "I still don't know why she asked what she did."

* * *

The social innings started as people began snacking, and the desserts were set out as well at that point. Yoko got first dibs on the frozen yogurt, and it actually wasn't that bad.

But Yoko found she ended up shaking a _lot_ of hands, and everyone seemed to have something to say. "What classes do you have?" "Who's your favorite professor?" "Where are you from?" and many more were asked of her over the remainder of the night.

And the frizzy-haired girl, who Yoko remembered was named Alisa, even said, "Please tell me you like girls. _Do_ you?"

Yoko, flustered, had to apologize. "I'm sorry, I really am, but… I like boys."

Alisa sighed. "Don't be. It'll just take time for me to find someone."

"If it helps, I think you look really nice."

Alisa ducked her head briefly, smiled, and moved on around the room.

Eventually, as the party wound down, Yoko noticed the Big Sisters getting together with their appointed Little Sisters and as it happened, Tanya had Yoko and Alisa, and in a corner of the room, she spoke to them both.

"So what did you think of our little exercise?" asked Valentine.

"Kind of exhausting," Alisa said.

"Unusual," admitted Yoko. "But kind of fun, in the end, seeing all the very specific foods or drinks people had to bring."

At that, Tanya's eyes seemed to light up just a bit. And try as Yoko might to include Alisa during the round of small talk that followed, Tanya kept focusing on just a bit more on Yoko.

"So, can I ask if you've ever – let's say, done anything you shouldn't quite do but had fun doing it?" Tanya said at one point.

Alisa ran her hand through her hair. "Um, I guess the worst was having a house party when my parents weren't home."

Yoko almost felt bad reciting her story. "I've always been really into motorcycles, and I rode smaller bikes off-road long before I got my licence." She stopped and said, "Look, I probably shouldn't even really be telling you both this, but Miss Valentine, you _did_ ask, okay?" She took a deep breath. "One night – I was fifteen then – my boyfriend at the time dared me to drive my dad's motorcycle. Well, I wasn't gonna back down from that, so I lifted the keys when dad wasn't looking, and had the bike out for a spin."

Yoko chuckled. "It _was_ pretty stupid looking back on it – I could've gotten in _so_ much trouble! But I had the bike back and parked without my dad ever realizing it, and my boyfriend was so thrilled and awed by it he practically worshipped me for the rest of the year – until he broke up with me, that is, 'cause I wouldn't sleep with him."

And that did it. Tanya all but asked Alisa to speak privately later, chivvying her off and out of the room. Then she got Yoko alone in the hallway and said in a low, eager voice, "What would you do if I told you there's a chance there'd be something like that coming up during your probationary period?"

Yoko leaned back a bit, her eyebrows shooting up. "That's a bit odd, I have to admit, Miss Valentine."

"But it'd be fun, right? And we wouldn't exactly be breaking any laws." Tanya's eyes practically gleamed.

"I guess I could be cool with that," Yoko conceded.

"Great! Now why don't you run home for now. Your Saturday's free, but Sunday night you'll be asked to come back here for a quick review to see how much you know about Tau Iota, okay?"

Tanya reached out, shaking hands with Yoko, then waved goodbye as Yoko went to the stairs to leave the sorority building.

Outside, Yoko ran into Alisa, who was leaning against the TIE pillar, her face downcast. A sinking feeling hit Yoko's stomach, and she said, "Alisa? I'm _really_ sorry the President blew you off like that."

She sniffled a bit and dredged up a smile. "Honestly, don't be. I can tell when a girl is into another girl, and I think she's falling for you."

Yoko blinked. "Are you – are you _serious_?"

"It's not hard to see. She's focusing on you, not me. I can't think of any reason other than that." Alisa sighed and extended her hand. "Good luck, Yoko Littner."

"Good luck, Alisa Osborne." Yoko shook hands, then departed for her house.

* * *

Zoro blinked. "Okay, _that's_ weird."

"Told ya." Yoko gently poked Zoro in the side, and giggled when he briefly tickled her in response.

Zoro said, "Anyway, about Valentine? Listen, Simon and Rossiu – I don't know how we got on the subject but we were talking about that big frat kegger night, and they said they bumped into that girl. Simon's exact words were, 'She has this amazing body, but she looks at you like she'd like to feast on you.' He also said that she propositioned them both for a three-way with her."

It was Yoko's turn to blink. "I hope they turned her down."

"Shit yeah, they did. But if she is pretty much into guys, then what's her interest in you?"

"There's no law that says she can't be bi," pointed out Yoko.

Zoro shrugged. "That's true. I mean, Simon and Rossiu both told me they go both ways."

" _Really_?" said Yoko.

"Yeah." Zoro blushed. "I asked the obvious question and got two shit-eating grins for my trouble."

Yoko laughed. "Well, better them with each other than with Tanya!"

"True." Zoro's expression grew solemn. "What if she _does_ want you to do something? Like break into a place somewhere or something like that?"

"She couldn't be _that_ out there, could she? She'd get kicked out of the university! _I_ could get kicked out, too!" Yoko said, swallowing hard as she realized what could happen.

"Maybe she just wants to see how much of a risk-taker each pledge is. For all I know it involves just going onto a roof."

Yoko heaved a sigh of relief. "If that's all it is, I'll happily go onto the roof of Tau Iota!"

Zoro reached up and gently turned Yoko's face to look at his. He leaned in for a kiss, then said, "If you wanna back out from this sorority thing, I won't hold it against you."

Yoko barked a short laugh. "If you did, Zoro, I'd be finding a new boyfriend the next day."

"Good thing you won't, then." Zoro looked around and said, "You wanna go back?"

"We probably should. We can hang out at a picnic bench, eat the rest of this and then call it a day up here." Yoko grabbed one of the oars, unshipped it, and let the end fall in the water. Zoro followed suit, and she said, "And—"

The two leaned forwards at the same time, gripping their oars. " _Row!_ "

Their boat cut swiftly through the water as the two of them worked in unison, rowing back to the boat dock jutting out into the lake.

* * *

Thanks to Ayala Atreides for betaing this, and helping with the title!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes some liberties with sorority recruitment and pledging practices, although I have tried to research rushing and pledging to keep this fic broadly consistent with Canadian and American practices. Any errors are entirely my own.


End file.
